Realty News Roundup: Govt Announces Smart City List; ICICI Launches 'Extraa Home Loans'

Realty News Roundup is PropGuide's selection of top stories from the real estate sector

Top News

Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday released the list of cities selected for the ambitious Smart City project. Out of the total 100, the names of 98 cities are announced. It includes 24 state capitals. Uttar Pradesh has got the maximum number of cities in the list (13), followed by Tamil Nadu (12) and Maharasthra (10). Read more.

In another development, the government will consider seven new proposals for special economic zones (SEZs). Meanwhile, three SEZ developers have approached the government to surrender their tax-free zones. Twenty two developers have sought more time to implement their projects, which are at different stages of implementation. Read more.

 All India real estate developers association, CREDAI, has decided to start its own data- mining system in the next few months. Reports suggest that the decision has come after it found that varying figures from real estate consultants are triggering panic among home buyers. CREDAI's data-mining system aims to give an “exact picture” of the sector across the country. Read more.

Good news for affordable home buyers. ICICI Bank has launched ICICI Bank Extraa Home Loans, which will allow mortgage guarantee- backed loans for those, aspiring to buy their first homes in the affordable segment. It allows a borrower to enhance the loan amount by up to 20 per cent. It also provides the option to extend the repayment period up to 67 years of age. Read more.

Off the front page

Upcoming project: Dharani Developers Private Limited, a division of PGP Group of companies, has launched a premium residential community, named PGP Oaks at Ashok Nagar, Chennai. The project will have 112 luxury apartments, built in an area of 1.20 lakh sq ft with a budget of ₹100 crore. The community will comprise of 72 units of 2BHK apartments and 40 units of 3BHK apartments. Prices begin from ₹75 lakh for a 2BHK flat. The project, which is already under-construction, is expected to be completed in 18 months. All amenities such as a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a landscaped garden with a jogging track, a recreation area with indoor games, a multi-purpose hall and a herbal garden are available. Read here.

Opinion

Read an interview with Rerserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan on the current state of the Indian economy. Read here.

Read this to know how a change in repo rate affects buyers. Read here.