NOIDA Authority and GRIHA Council with support from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, Architects Association Noida Zone (AANZ) and CREDAI recently held a one-day awareness programme ´Sustainable Habitats the GRIHA way´.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), leading global body for setting standards in real estate and Indian real estate industry body NAREDCO have joined hands to promote internationally recognized standards, regulations and professionalism in the Indian real estate sector.

Make no mistake - environmentally sustainable real estate is extremely important for India today. Given the massive demands on infrastructure, energy, potable water and waste handling and disposal, there are no other options for the real estate sector but to go green.

Currently, Grade A office space in the top seven cities of India amounts to around 376 million square feet, and we anticipate that approximately 50% of this space will get listed in next 2–3 years.

REITS will help to mobilize funds in real estate industry and probably infuse the much required confidence in the space but time will show how it evolves with respect to this new investment platform

The approval couldn’t have come at a better time keeping in mind the prevailing paucity of funds coupled with an economy that is on the verge of reaching the takeoff stage.

REIT shall invest in commercial real estate assets, either directly or through SPVs. In such SPVs a REIT shall hold or proposes to hold controlling interest and not less than 50% of the equity share capital or interest.

Indian real estate market is going through a very interesting phase with the general economic development. With buyers getting more of international exposure, the nature of the demands are changing as the consumers want quality projects that have all the amenities at par with the rest of the world.

Indian real estate sector is currently passing through a dull phase. The costs are up and the demand at that price does not match due to factors related to economic growth and the markets. Moreover the country is waiting for election this year to show directions in the coming period.