Real estate in Chennai

It is raining investments in the Indian real estate sector. From foreign and domestic funds, banks and HNIs, everyone is queuing up for a piece of the expanding Indian real estate pie.
The foreign direct investment in the sector alone is expected to be nearly 16 billion dollars over the next five to six years. The newest entrants into the sector are the ultra conservative pension funds from the US that have been eyeing the steadily rising returns the sector has been offering.

On the other side, real estate developers all over the country are gung ho about new projects. From Special Economic Zones and townships with high class luxury apartments priced at Rupees 1 lakh per sq ft and swanky commercial office spaces to IT parks and mega malls, the Indian realtor sweetest dreams are coming true.

US-based Warburg Pincus, Blackstone Group, Broadstreet, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund (MSREF), California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), Hines, Tishman Speyer and JP Morgan Partners are keen to invest in India.

Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathway is also said to be interested. A group of NRIs has raised $150 million under the Indian Real Estate Opportunities Fund for projects in India. Nearly $3 billion will be available for investment in Indian real estate over the next 15-month period with a slew of joint ventures with internationals funds and developers on the anvil.

Most investible funds are expected to come from North American investors, European real estate funds and multinational developers from the Asia Pacific region who have been seeking opportunities in India

Vasthushasthra facilities the development of friendly relations between human beings and the invisible, infinite and incomprehensible forces by accommadating the five elements of nature in buildings.

Our forefathers had all along known that their well-being was determined by their living in harmony with nature. They believed that the universe was determined by the five elements, the Panchabuthas, of nature - namely, earth, ether, fire, air and water. Hence, whatever they did or created, they endeavoured at maintaining the harmony with nature. So was developed many sciences, one among them being Vasthushasthra.

Vasthushasthra is defined as a science which enables human beings to develop friendly relations with the invisible, infinite and incomprehensible forces by accommodating the five elements of nature in buildings. The sciences has been in practice from the Vedic period (for over 5,000 years).

Accoding to Vasthushasthra, the Vasthu or Bhoomi, the Earth, while revolving round the sun produces electric current, and the outer space has positive and negative ions. It also says that the pumping of blood by the human heart and breathing in the 'inner space' of the individuals is because of energy.

Vasthu says that the three rhythms are not always in consonance. And its attempt is to create consonance between them, and thus create harmony and well-being.

The science says the universe and the human body are made of panchabuthas, which carries energy. The volume of these energy levels remains same even after travelling through structures.Vasthushasthra lays emphasis on the sun which is the source of one of the five panchabuthas - fire. The ultraviolet rays of the sun help the body produce vitamin D, which is directly absorbed by the blood. On the other hand, the infra red rays of the sun is harmful to health. The ultraviolet rays are more between 4 am and 6 am. Which is why, says Vasthushasthra, that more space should be allocated in the eastern side of the house for more ultraviolet rays. The evening sun (between 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm) carries more infra red rays, and so, the western side should have less space to avoid its ill-effects.

On the basis of the solar energy, the whole year is divided into two parts - the Uthrayanam and Dakshnayanam. Uthrayanam period is between December 22 and June 20 and Dakshnayanam is between June 21 and December 21.

During Uthrayanam the sun moves towards north, and has more energy. Hence, Vasthushasthra advises the allocation of more space in the northern side.

Water is also given consideration in the scheme of things. Vasthushasthra believes that all water bodies, whether stagnant or flowing, resonate bio-electro magnetic energy, which travels into the surrounding areas in the north, north-east and east directions. The current supposedly helps human beings in rejuvenating the blood stream in the body and thus preventing it from decay.

The next important element, as per the ancient science, is Vayu (air). The oxygen required for life on earth comes from plants and trees. Vasthushasthra advises that tall trees should be grown in the southern and western side of the house because the bio-electro magnetic field is abundantly available in the north-east, east and northern sides.

Earth, the fifth element, has a magnetic field in the south-north direction. Its gravitational force acts on the living and lifeless objects. Both these again, claims Vasthushasthra, affects human being.

Vasthushasthra claims that man-made structure like homes, industries and commercial complexes have more impact on their daily life, as the bio-electro magnetic energy from the atmosphere, in the form of successive spirals, enters the bodies through such structure.

The writer is a Coimbatore-based Vasthu consultant.

For details contact :
T. NATCHIMUTHU B.Com., C.A.I.I.B.,
VASTHU CONSULTANT
"SENTHIL BHAVAN",
34,Sri Balaji Nagar,
Ramanathapuram,
Coimbatore - 641 045,
Tamilnadu

Phone : 314779, Cell : 98422 02779,
e-mail: natch_vasthu@yahoo.com

The residential market in India is typically an occupier or end user driven market rather than an investor driven market. Most developers confirm that majority of their sales happen to end users and not investors.


The perception amongst a few real estate investors in India that prices of real estate have never declined is false. The prices in many key real estate markets across the country fell by 20 to 25% from 1997 to 2002. It has also been noticed that prices have taken a beating during the 1975 period and again during 1982 across various markets. Real estate investors typically look at rental returns and capital appreciation. Therefore given the current sluggish market conditions, high stamp duty and high property taxes, a real estate investor who is not deriving any rental returns from his property is holding a Non Performing Asset in his portfolio.

As the number of individuals interested in investing in residential and commercial real estate is growing in India, the key to success is planning the deal from start to finish before making an offer. A number of individual investors fail in their real estate investment decisions, as they do not plan their deal from start to finish when they make their offer. Typically investors go out in search of property which is cheap and put up an offer on the same. Once the offer is accepted, he is unclear as to how he may maximise his returns from the property, the various options available to him in order to achieve the same, as well as resolve unexpected problems that may arise in future. Some of the ways in which an investor can maximize returns from his property is to value add to it in an innovative manner. Maybe add a bit of furnishing, install air-conditioning, and cordon off an area for parking space. If he is planning to rent out the place, all these will significantly help him raise the rent. Also it’s important for the investor to anticipate future hassles. For eg. Corrosion if he is living by the sea. Maintenance is the one of the key areas an investor has to keep track of when it comes to any property. Only this can retain and appreciate the value of the property, which has been acquired, else it will depreciate.

Most of us are worried on how to get started as a real estate investor. We feel that we do not have the necessary time nor the expertise to evaluate real estate investment options. The success lies in identifying atleast two hours in a week to analyze the various opportunities by driving around the neighbourhoods, learning market values and making appropriate offers. Another starting trouble which most of us have is the fear of having to deal face-to-face with owners. This may be overcome by mailing letters to them and then waiting for the owners to call, as then clearly the investor is being sought by the owner thereby giving the former an upper hand. It will also be worthwhile for the investor to review relevant articles and gather information on deals in the market at regular intervals.

Most investors ignore the fact that refurbishing real estate increases the value of the same. Investors should always remember to keep enough money in the bank to cover atleast six months of expenses before they buy a rental property. This cushion will protect him from long-term vacancies, an eviction, or unexpected expenses.

Investors should always take time to consider what type of property they would ideally like to own and preferably adhere to only those areas they are comfortable with. For eg. Service apartments are a popular trend and could be a lucrative form of investment that requires some expenditure initially. It helps investors not to be intimidated with the presence of many investors chasing a few investment grade properties, for instance. The key here is to break out from the pack, and try structuring a deal in an innovative way. Checking out Internet sources, other information sources like real estate magazines, associates, one’s social network and legal consultants can help them evaluate the property trends in the market and take a call on the kind of property to invest.

An investor should never be afraid to make an offer on the property. If he has spent enough time pre-qualifying the property and looking at it, then he should go ahead and make the offer, even if the seller is asking much more than what the investor wants to pay. He should never be afraid of the seller being offended by the price or terms quoted. He should let the seller know why the offer is what it is, highlight if the property needs any repairs or that it is located in a bad area etc.

Failure in investing can happen due to not understanding how to invest or not having a sound understanding of real estate. This is, not to say that the investor needs to know every technique and every thing there is about real estate investing before he gets started. However, it is important to know one or two investing techniques and master them rather than trying to master them all. The investor should pick out one or two ways to find and buy real estate and put them to work and he should remember to stay focused on these techniques.

To sum it up, every investor should keep in mind the areas dealt with so far and also look out for growth opportunities available in the specific corridor where he is investing, potential rental returns and the exposure to risk from various types of property.