Kerala Real Estate Information

Thursday, March 27, 2008

India - global real estate invester's preferred market



According to a survey conducted by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) , India is one of the most preferred property market among foreign investors globally.

This report is from
January/February 2008 (AFIRE) news letter. India is preferred by 16.7 per cent of the respondents favoring the country as the most fancied place for real estate investments. In the survey , Although the US was named the top ranking country, China and India placed a strong second and third. Compared to 2006, China had the biggest improvement in investor’s perceptions, moving seven percentage points, while India slipped by almost two points. To be read along the lines is JP Morgan (One of the largest investment banks in US) plans to invest 1500 Crores in real estate projects in india.

You can read the full report here

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Parking Spots rising costs

An interesting article about the cost of parking lots in mumbai. It seems that a parking spaces in mumbai are as expensive as a flat / apartment in cochin.. Another article about 25 floor parking planned in mumabi
It wouldnt be long before we see an article like this parking spot for $225000 or an ad like this Outdoor Parking spot for sale for cochin and other major cities in kerala.

Storage areas and parking spots in the city is a multi billion revenue business in developed countires. Parking is a big problem in most cities in kerala. It is not uncommon for people to choose a store / area to shop just for the reason that it is easy to find parking around. That 5 cent or 10 cent second plot (plot behind the roadside plot) you have, could worth much more in next 5 years.. especialy when tata nano hit the road ....

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Real estate market to grow ~6.5 times by 2015: report

Indian Express Reports that Indian real estate market, growing at 30 per cent, is likely to touch $90 billion by 2015 from $14 billion at present. According to the report
IT and ITeS, banking and financial services have in particular created a huge demand for office space. IT and ITeS alone is expected to require 150 million sq ft across urban India by 2010. The year 2006-07 witnessed organised retail growing at a pace of 25-30 per cent.

Read it here

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Watch Dog for Housing Builders

Real Estate fraud is booming like never before, and con artists are finding new and ingenious ways to fleece unsuspecting property investors. We have heard of so called, 'leading builders' being involved in land encroachment to real estate agents cheatings buyers.
Looks like Govt and the builders association itself is stepping up to provide some protection to the consumers (and thus protect their bussiness :) ). Every buyer has to understand that , a legal check is the non-negotiable part of purchase.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Cost of Stamp Paper and Fees : property registration


This is a sample calculation table to find how much would you need to spend , based on present property registration fees and stamp rate , when purchasing a property . This information is provided for understanding and planning purpose only. Though, the numbers provided here are based on recent registartions , it may not be accurate for every place in kerala.

At this time, the rate of stamp duty in panchayat area is
10% plus registration fee and surcharge 2 %. The total is 12%. For the registration in municipal area 12 % plus registration and surcharge fee 2 %. The total is 14 %. For registration within the Corporation area 13.5% is for registration & surcharge fee 2 %. Total is 15.5 %.

You can do your own calculation using this Excel spread sheet..
If you have a google/gmail account use this google url
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pU7ASvIyVxppYUEtlWHI_fA&hl=en
You may download the Excel spread sheet from below link
http://rapidshare.com/files/101655095/Land_Registration_Price_Calculator.xls.html
How to use this calculation to find the price for your transaction
Column B7 :- Enter the total area of land (in cents) in your transaction
Column B8 :- Enter price per cent
Column B12 :- Enter fare value per cent
The total price is shown on Column 15, depending upon if the property is located under panchayat , muncipality or corporation

Saturday, March 15, 2008

L&T Tech Park at Infopark Kochi Inauguration

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri. V.S. Achuthanandan, will inaugurate ‘Tejomaya’ – phase I project of L&T Tech Park and will also launch the work for its proposed phase II project – ‘Signature Tower’.
Both the projects are located in the Infopark campus at Kakkanad, Kochi. , L&T Tech Park is set to catalyze the IT boom in Kochi by providing world-class workspace for companies having expansion plans in tier-2 cities. Several IT majors like TCS, IBS, Arbitron Inc., L&T Infotech, etc. have already booked space in Tejomaya. Over 3500 technocrats are expected to be working out of the facility.



L&T Tech Park will come up on a 4-acre plot in the picturesque campus of Infopark Kochi, a Government of Kerala organization. Located 25 km from the Cochin International Airport and 12 km from the heart of the city, L&T Tech Park will be an ideal destination for IT and ITES companies.

L&T Tech Park will have a total built-up area of 1 million Sq.ft and a multi level car park of 1.29 lakh sq.ft. . The project will be executed in three Phases: 0.4 Million Sq.ft in Phase one Tejomaya, 0.5 Million Sq.ft in Phase 2 - SIGNATURE TOWER for Infopark & 0.18 Million sq.ft in Phase 3 - Swapnalaya.

Here is a list of other projects in Infopark campus.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Interesting facts about Kochi real estate

A freelance writer Resmi Jaimon , analyzing some facts about real estate scene at Kochi. The author is "a regular contributor of The Hindu's Property Plus & Metro Plus; Rediff; Information Technology; and a couple of other publications"

It is an intersting read.. Kochi Real estate facts

Another article about real estate projects at kakkanad

Saturday, March 1, 2008

NRI Land Registration Procedures

The ever changing rules and regulations on land registration, often confuses NRIs. One of the most common issue is the lack of information about how to buy / sell land without being physically present in Kerala. A regulation change, last year, made it a requirement for the buyer and seller to be present at the registration office for the transaction and affix photo and finger print.

According to some web sites "the NRIs could send the power to his family members or others to get the document registered in their name through a power of attorney , this power attonamy stamp charge is normal for to direct blood relative and for others stamp charge is high, in this case also buyer and seller must produce their thump impression and photo at the time of registration, it can be sent through email or fax "

Following is the information I received from a NRI friend who went through a registration(BUY) last month. A power of attorney was not required for a purchase. In this case NRI was a buyer. To be able to sell , I think it requires to have a power of attorney towards the representative in Kerala, apart from following documents.

NRI buying land without personally appearing

Step 1: Find the fair value / thara vila for the property. Mostly any adhahram ezhuthu vendor or the broker can find this information for you. Your registration price must be above this value.

Step 2: Buy Stamp Duty Paper / Mudra Pathram for the registration price. Stamp paper could be bought from adhahram ezhuthu vendors or local govt treasury.

Step 3: Mail One Stamp Duty Paper (of the highest value is preferred, if there are multiple) to the NRI who is involved.
Step 4: NRI need to paste a PASSPORT SIZE PHOTO on the Stamp Duty Paper and place the LEFT THUMP IMPRESSION (left thump finger print) on the appropriate place. THUMP IMPRESSION must be overlapping the photo and stamp paper.

The sellers photo must be pasted immediately after the logo on the stamp paper
The buyers photo must be pasted immediately after the sellers photo.




Step 5: Attach attested/notarized copies of identity and address proof and documents to prove the NRI status. Identity proof can be passport first page. Foreign Address proof can be employment letter and NRI status proof could be copy of visa. Caution : Double check with the local registration office , what documents do they accept.

Step 6: The NRIs representative can be present with the above stamp paper and documents to execute the registration

There are some details here as well. Kerala govt exemptsNRIs

Though this is from a real experiance, to avoid troubles, It is advisable to double check the process directly with someone in the specific registration office in advance.

There is a risk involved in sending a blank stamp paper(the details are written usualy at the time of registration) with finger print. Some else getting hold of it might cause big troubles and long legal battle. I think the initial rule (requirement for physical presence) was made without enough thinking and later they bend it to accommodate NRIs.

Also it is possible to find this information from a ‘ADHARAM EZHUTHU’ (vendor) agency/individual who has experiance with the specific registration office where the transaction will be registered.