Modi Gets Massive NRI Support

Distance doesn't matter when it comes to their love for the first man of Gujarat, Narendra Modi. Far away from their hometown, Gujarat, US-based supporters of Chief Minister Narendra Modi are leaving no stones unturned in getting Modi back to power. Enormous campaigns have been launched on the phone and via email asking NRI Gujarati's to persuade their family members in India to go out and vote for Modi.

Although NRI's are not allowed to vote in India and US laws do not permit fundraising but many Modi supporters have left to campaign in Gujarat- a state that is flush with NRI remittances. Advertisements have also been placed in local Indian papers.

Organizers believe that distance won't be a hindrance and the campaign will definitely have an impact.
According to Sanjay Jain, Vice President of the Overseas Friends of BJP ''A view point or opinion of a member of the NRI community has more of an impact on a Gujarati than that of somebody from another state in India. Somebody calling from America saying that we have seen the progress of the Government and you should consider voting for them goes a long way especially since we do not stand to gain in any way''.

The Gujarati community is a large business community in U.S, specially in the hotel industry. In fact they are so well-established that they are referred to as the 'Patel, Motel Cartel'.

The Gujarati supporters of Modi credit him for making Gujarat the No 1 state in India, as per Rajiv Gandhi Foundation's Economic Freedom Index.

''The average Gujarati earns 2.3 times more than the average Indian. Gujarat growth is 15 percent. Gujarat is becoming another Singapore. What more do you want?'' asks Narayan Kataria of supportgujarat.org, an online support group that has sent out over a 100,000 emails in support of Modi.

Commenting on the 2005 riots Mr. Sanjay Jain said that whatever has happened is sub judice. It is being taken care of by the system in India, which is a fair system. We just want to focus on economic development. Intimately it's bread and butter that matters for common man.

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source: nrirealtynews.com

Remittances Flourish with the Increase in NRI's

The upsurge in the number of Indians living abroad is continuously increasing the remittance of money from abroad into India. According to experts the market is expected to flourish on a continual basis.

GM and head of NRI services, ICICI Bank, Manish Misra said that India will remain a big market for remittances. The business is growing at 10-12 per cent and the growth is expected to continue over the next 3-4 years
RBI data reveals that remittances into India were $27.2 billion in 2006-07 as compared to $24.3 billion a year earlier.

Mr. Misra further pointed out that NRIs are investing heavily in the real estate and equity markets. NRI deposits are also gaining popularity, the total NRI deposit base in India accounts for close to $40 billion, which is expected to grow at more than 10 per cent.

One of the largest players in the remittance business with a worldwide market share of 17 per cent, Western Union Financial Services also expects the boom in the business to continue in India.

Anil Kapur, Managing Director, south Asia with Western Union quested "India is one of the fastest growing remittance markets in the world largely due to the number of Indians migrating to developed countries in search of work. The Indian remittance market has grown at 20 per cent, from $11 billion in 2001."

According to an industry source, of the $28 billion that came into India in 2006-07, an estimated $10 billion came from the US. The next highest source of foreign remittances is the Gulf countries. "North America has replaced Gulf countries as the most important source of remittances," said a foreign bank official. The UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada are also fast catching up because of their need for skilled labour.

The worldwide remittance business is growing at 8 per cent a year and stood at $269 billion in 2006-07. India accounts for over 20 per cent of remittances into developing countries. China received $23 billion of remittances in 2006-07.

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source: nrirealtynews.com

'NRI service' Counter Opened by Holy Faith Builders

Holy Faith Builders & Developers Pvt Ltd an ISO 9001 certified company from Kochi has opened its 'NRI service counter' in Muscat, in collaboration with Sixth Element.

As per the agreement signed between the two companies, Sixth element will be managing the realty management, after sales service and promotions of Holy Faith Builders. Sixth Element will also provide NRI's in Kerala free guidance on real estate investments.

Addressing a seminar in Al Falaj, Sany Francis, managing director of Holy Faith Builders made clear that the value of real estate properties never depreciates. It grows at an astounding rate. He also added that the reason our forefather's invested in property was that they new its phenomenal outcome in future.

A lot of influential people including chairman of Gulf Nexus, Hosam Abdul Fatah Al Zaabi,; C. M. Najeeb, general manager of Towell Barwil; Abdul Raheem, general manager of Badr Shipping; attended the NRI investors' meet. The meet showcased details on 10 projects at various locations.

Holy Faith's new projects in Kakkanad - luxury apartments - have new waterfront. Lakeview offers all amenities of a city and serenity of a village tastefully combined in one.

Mr. Sany said that Kochi is one of the best places to invest in Asia as it is aptly connected to the outside world through sea, air and road. The city has made rapid progress in the past few years, and its economic growth is quite commendable.


The scenario has changed, earlier Real Estate Investment was quite complex. Loans are available up to 85 per cent of the total value of the property. All one needs to do is to choose the right property, according to one's budget and dreams.

Kochi is blended with historical places, palaces, forts, old churches, beaches, backwaters, snake boats races, Kathakali, museums and the convenience of a big city with towering buildings, luxury homes and business centers. I is one of the most important cities in Kerala and is the industrial, business and tourism capital of the state. It is also famous as the second most important city on the western coast of India.

Holy Faith Builders Group, Ever since its commencement has been delivering touch-of-a-class home ideas, with an eye firmly fixed on packing its projects with better quality. At present Holy Faith has an inspiring portfolio of prime residential spaces, all immaculately designed and constructed to be future perfect, yet with a discerning traditional twist.

The group aims at building houses that will help customers fully realise the home of their dreams. It's strongly supported by a talented management and engineering team of young professionals who combine experience, insight and expertise to constantly outperform.

The result is a tenant portfolio that includes some of the best addresses and a comprehensive spectrum of services that include designing and building to suit specific requirement, support infrastructure, property management and facility management. The group's unending quest for excellence and commitment to offer higher living standards has won the faith of happy families across the city. This is evident in the overwhelming response we receive for projects that are still in the drawing board phases.

"The benchmark features that set apart Holy Faith are the best designs by the best architects, highest degree of compatibility to contemporary needs, location advantage ensured by carefully handpicked locales, clear property titles and transparency adhered to in all transactions, expert assistance that ensure a stress-free property buying experience, superior specifications and finishes with meticulous attention to detail, an eye for aesthetics and the best value and projects approved by leading financial institutions," senior officials of Holy Faith, claims.

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source: nrirealtynews.com

Sales under way for luxury Hamlin townhomes

What these "homes" sacrifice in yards, they more than make up in living space and opulent interiors. The dwellings are luxury townhomes as large as 3,300 square feet at One Hamlin Place, a new community in Mount Pleasant from John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods.

Sales began last month, with prices starting in the mid-$500,000s, says Jennifer Nilsson, spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based builder. The townhomes are set among oaks and marshes of the existing upscale Hamlin Plantation neighborhood off Rifle Range Road, and many units have views of Hamlin Sound.

Brick and fiber-cement siding highlight the townhome outsides. Interiors sport personal elevators, 10-foot ceilings, hardwood floors, custom kitchen cabinets and granite countertops and spa baths with jetted tubs and dual vanities. Each townhome has a two-car, rear-entry garage. Common features include sunrooms and screened porches.

Inventory story

Brad Rundbaken has had experience in real estate, the stock market and appraisals, so he has a wide scope on housing trends. In his third quarter Charleston real estate market report, Rundbaken, now principal of Diversified Resource Group LLC, sees some but not much uptick in the sluggish housing market.

"Sales have really taken a hit here locally due to the current credit crisis and overall negative mentality of buyers and sellers," he says. "Until sellers and some Realtors get a clue how to price a home in this buyers market the trend will only get worse." He says inventories have shown short-term improvement. However, in September 2006, "overall inventory was 6.1 months or 8,336 properties. September 2007 shows 10.95 months of inventory with 9,742 properties for sale. YIKES!"

Way to go, Mungo

The National Housing Quality award is not easy to obtain: Just five companies won in 2008. One of those was Columbia-based Mungo Homes and its partner Harbor Homes, which builds in Charleston and Myrtle Beach.

The National Association of Home Builders Research Center and Reed Business Information, publishers of Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazines, combine to give out the award, now in its 15th year.

"The National Housing Quality Award is the hardest award to win in home building," says Paul Deffenbaugh, editorial director for Professional Builder.

Blowing cool

Made public this spring, One Cool Blow broke ground in late October to kick off construction of the mixed-used development in Charleston peninsula's East Central neighborhood. WECCO of Charleston is developing the project of 57 environmentally friendly lofts and 12,000 square feet of commercial space. Three five-story "green" buildings will be constructed almost entirely of concrete, copper and glass, and the structures will boast roof-top gardens, interior courtyards and expansive riverfront views, the company says.

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source: charleston.net

Home equity intact or growing despite soft market

With the daily din of bad news about the state of the housing market, it's easy to lose sight of some larger economic realities: Despite declining prices in many markets, homeowners still control near-record equity holdings, just under $11 trillion.

In its latest quarterly "flow of funds" statistical report, the Federal Reserve calculated that American homeowners' equity accounts totaled $10.9 trillion by mid-2007. That was the net difference between total home mortgage debt ($10.1 trillion) and the total market value of home real estate (about $21 trillion).

The second-quarter equity number was down about $6 billion from the first quarter of the year, but was $48 billion higher than it was at the end of 2006. In an $11 trillion marketplace, a $6 billion giveback in a cyclical correction is not a cause for panic.

A similar, localized reality affects dozens of metropolitan housing markets that saw double-digit appreciation rates during the boom years. Prices are off 4.4 percent on average among 20 major markets covered by the latest Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index. But if prices more than doubled as they did in 33 metropolitan markets between 2001 and 2006, according to federal estimates, then even 10 percent and higher average price drops in once-booming areas of California and Florida have left owners with most of their paper gains intact.

Earlier this month in the Fort Myers area of southwest Florida, where average home prices jumped 130 percent between 2001 and 2006, a taxi driver told me that he bought a house for $234,000 four years ago and turned down an offer for $439,000 in early 2006. Now he figures he can't get more than $379,000 for it, a $60,000 drop in value in a year and a half. But he figures he's still ahead by $145,000 and has more than $150,000 in equity.

His estimates of gain may be optimistic. He didn't factor in his costs of ownership, such as mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, improvements and the like. But his basic conclusion probably is correct. Even with the price declines that have racked the area, he's well ahead.

Personal stories like the taxi driver's are commonplace in many parts of the country, with two large exceptions: People who bought close to the peak of the boom and thus weren't in the house long enough to reap advantages from double-digit appreciation may now be in negative equity territory. Add to that homeowners in unemployment-ravaged communities, especially in the industrial Midwest, where foreclosures are pulling entire neighborhoods' house values down and destroying equity built up over years.

Many of these stories fill the news pages and cast a pall on consumers' perspectives on what's happening in housing. But as tragic as they are, they are not the predominant reality in real estate across the country. For the vast majority of owners, even in the formerly highest-flying areas, the giveback has been a modest fraction of the price gains of the previous five years.

Citing Case-Shiller index data, Brian Catalde, president of the National Association of Home Builders, says Los Angeles home prices fell 5.7 percent in the past 12 months, but are up a net 88.9 percent since 2002. In Chicago, prices were down 1.3 percent between August 2006 and August 2007. They were up a net 34.2 percent in the past five years.

Of course, there are dozens of metropolitan home markets that never were touched by the boom's excesses, and have not seen price drops at all. Examples are found from North Carolina to Utah. Another place is Dallas, where homes gained by an average of just 17.8 percent in value during the boom years of 2001 to 2006, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's home price index. But from mid-2006 through mid-2007, Dallas house prices gained 5 percent.

Bottom line: The housing price correction cycle continues in many but not all parts of the country. But in the absence of a recession or major capital markets crisis, the fact is that most homeowners' equity stakes are intact. Or even growing.

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source: charleston.net