Editor’s Note

Talk about timing! Ever since we launched ‘Realty & More’, the real estate sector has been abuzz with news, developments and a slew
of policy announcements. What more can a policy-based news magazine have asked for?

Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Secretary, Arun Misra, in a free-wheeling interview to your favourite magazine says that there will be no shortage of housing in the next 10 years, as the rate of growth of housing stock is more than the population growth rate. He adds that once the real estate regulator is in place, the entire landscape of the housing industry will undergo a sea change.

Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development, Sharad Yadav, in a first-ever interview in this capacity spoke to ‘Realty & More’ where he elucidated his view of the proposed real estate regulatory bill as an attempt to balance the interests of consumers and promoters by imposing certain responsibilities on both. Yadav also sounded optimistic of attracting foreign realty investors to Indian shores after the new regulatory authority takes off.

Stock markets regulator Sebi issued new draft guidelines to set up Real estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in India. ‘Realty & More’
Assistant Editor Madhusudan Sahoo spoke to a cross section of the stakeholders to find out the kind of impact this move will have on the industry.

The announcement of extending the Metro link to Greater Noida brought cheers to developers who are having their projects along
the proposed route. This is also good news for those who stay or are planning to stay in Greater Noida. Even those planning to buy a house along the Yamuna Expressway have more reason to do so. It is also that time of the year which is considered most auspicious
to buy a house or a new property. It is the time when builders come with maximum offers and schemes. All these schemes have one common word – ‘free’ – free registration, free AC, free modular kitchen, free car parking even free car and so on. I confess it becomes overly difficult for me to resist self-indulgence whenever I see a freebie on buying something. For example, if the third shirt comes free on buying two, I will definitely go for the scheme, even if there are no three shirts of my choice. In the process, I end up buying a few only to never use them. I wonder if the seller has increased the MRP first and then put such schemes on offer, or he has cut his margins and the deal is really a steal. Shirts are no houses – but the question remains – is it really profitable to go for such schemes? We try to find an answer – Happy Diwali & Enjoy Reading!!!