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The president and CEO of Bangalore-based Real
Estate Bank International Ltd, (REBI), Lakshmi Narayanan, said
in Chennai that the company was expanding REBI services in Tamil
Nadu.
REBI aims to bring transparency to real
estate transactions and offer all services under one roof -
services for both buyers and sellers. This is helpful to realty
developers as also global corporates, as REBI has rapidly
expanded operations in Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, he
said.
With operations in Tamil Nadu being
established currently, plans are afoot to go national shortly.
REBI also commenced overseas operations in Sri Lanka and soon
plans to reach out to countries such as Dubai, the UK, USA,
Singapore, Malaysia and Australia in a phased manner.
The franchisee model is the route chosen for
REBI's expansion plans. In all 3,000 franchisees are to be
established over the next three years. '
Tamil Nadu is expected to see 100 franchisee
outlets and REBI, having pumped in already Rs 5 crore in this
model, is likely to invest Rs 25 crore additionally over the
next 12 months. REBI seeks to provide a single window service
for customers in the realty sector, with services on offer to
include brokerage, financial advice, database generation and
relocation services.
Lakshmi Narayanan said, "Under brokerage
services, we extend help in identifying, buying, selling and/or
leasing of property. These services are offered offline through
an extensive network of franchisees and online through the
Internet. A toll free real estate helpline will be a major
facilitator to all prospective customers. Deals processed
through this network are backed by extensive research. Database
services will provide exhaustive information of properties to be
showcased to the customer."
India's realty sector is the only industry
witnessing a growth of 30-35 per cent growth each year in terms
of investment. Currently, the size of the industry is pegged at
$ 16 billion and expected to touch $ 25 billion and $ 50 billion
and $ 102 billion by 2010, 2015 and 2017 respectively.
Favourable demographics, increase of
purchasing power, customer-friendly practices by banks and home
finance companies, professionalism in rear estate and favorable
reforms initiated by the government (to attract global
investors) will form the drivers of growth, he said.
Estimated demand for space from IT/ITES
sector alone is expected to be 150 mn sq ft across the major
cities by 2010. In the residential sector, housing shortage is
expected to touch approximately 20 million units, of which 6.7
million are in urban India alone. Increased purchasing power and
organised retail formats have redefined the consumption pattern.
As a result, the country has witnessed mushrooming of retail
projects across the cities.
The 29-year-old engineer-turned-real estate
expert, Lakshmi Narayan says apartments in India are becoming
luxurious to an extent that even a single flat can cost more
than Rs 15 crore. He said there were nearly 14,000 real estate
brokers in Bangalore, 8,800 in the twin cities of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad, 18,000 for Chennaai, 27,000 in Mumbai and 120,000
in the National Capital Region of Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon.
A large chunk of these brokers were not
professionals and most work only part-time, with about 10 per
cent being full-time brokers. Hence, most business generated is
born out of trust and referrals from customers. Consequently,
the realty business doesn't work on professional lines. REBI is
here to change that scenario, he said, adding that REBI is at
work to announce a national toll free telephone number as
helpline for real estate stakeholders. This will be India's
first Real Estate Toll Free Helpline. "We have already finalised
the formalities and the service will be launched very shortly,"
announced Lakshmi Narayanan.
"Plans are on the anvil to launch two real
estate portals too. Of these two, the site
www.locateurproperty.com will be a revolutionary website to
serve as the locater of real estate properties nationally.
www.bharatpropertymarket.com will be the other site to offer
regular services," added Lakshmi Narayanan.
R Rangaraj
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