Realty News Roundup: RBI Expects Home Buyer Sentiment To Rise; India Buys Ambedkar's London Home

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

Top News

The Reserve Bank of India in its annual report said that the home buyer sentiment was expected to rise in the country, as economic growth picked up. The report also noted that high prices had kept genuine home buyers away from the residential market. Read more.

All eyes are now on the Central government's smart city project after the release of the list of cities selected for the project. In this report, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has assured that investments in smart cities will be a safe bets. Another report says that about 120 million people in the country will directly benefit from the project. Meanwhile, as seen in this report, real estate developers have urged the government to now focus on effective implementation of these projects. The announcement of the list of proposed smart cities also reflected in the markets. According to this report, India's largest home finance major, HDFC, has raised Rs 2,000 crore via bond sales. To see the full list of cities selected for the smart city project, click here. To know all about smart cities, click here.

The government has acquired the three-storey bungalow in London where Dr B R Ambedkar lived as a student in the 1920s. The 2,050 sq ft bungalow will be converted into an international memorial. The amount paid for the deal is yet to be disclosed. Read more.

Off the front page

India's largest real estate developer DLF is reportedly going to sell a majority stake in its residential project DLF Capital Greens 6, located in Moti Nagar, New Delhi to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC. The transaction may be valued at Rs 1,500 crore-Rs 2,000 crore, according to this report.

In the stock market, real estate led the upwards move along with power and PSU stocks. Indian equities surged nearly 400 points for the second day on Friday. Read more.

Kolkata-based BGA Realtors has decided to build 1.5 million sq ft of affordable home space in six states. The projects will take off in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. They will be launched in 2017 and will be delivered by 2019. Read more.

Opinion

Quote of the day: “We need to create an environment where people are encouraged to own a house at the beginning of their career, but not at the retirement age,” K P Singh, Chairman, DLF. Read here.

Read India Today's take on the current state of Indian real estate. Read here.