Thursday, November 22, 2007

India - where the excitement is

Investors in property on the lookout for emerging markets and bargain deals with high potential should look to India, overseas property website Homesgofast has recommended.
At a time when many markets have question marks against them, India is "new, exciting, low-price and has great potential for capital growth," stated Nicholas Marr, the portal's chief executive officer. The kind of deal he had in mind were townhouses and apartments in tourist-friendly Goa, which could be had for as little as £9,000.
The only thing holding people back, Mr Marr suggested, was the uncertainty about issues such as due diligence and the safety of investments, but this concern would soon be replaced by confidence, he said: "Confidence has been growing in India; all the big business are looking at India now. They know that if you can get in there you have a big potential market".
It would certainly appear that the major businesses are moving in to the country in search of real estate. A report in the Economic Times in India today lists an impressive line-up of firms entering the market with up to $25 billion (£12.1 billion) poised to be poured into real estate in the next 12 to 18 months. Among these big hitters are the Trump Organisation, with Donald Trump Jr stating: "Now is the time to come to India." The level of investment the company will make is not stated, but the Business Standard has suggested that the skylines of Delhi and Mumbai could soon boast their own Trump Towers.
The Economic Times states that the Indian real estate industry is due to grow by 33 per cent to be worth $50 billion by 2010. Mr Marr believes that in the midst of this growing market, the very best places of all are the special economic zones, such as Rudrapur, where the Indian government is offering various incentives to encourage investment and industrial development from overseas. "It's one of the hottest areas for investors to go to. You can get a two-bed [property] for £23,000 and a lot of Indian businesses will be based there," he advised.
India's economic growth has been one of the major stories of recent years. Its huge population of over a billion, second only to China, gives it the numbers which, given the hoped-for economic development, could make it one of the leading economies in the world. A report by investment bank Goldman Sachs earlier this year stated that if the country continues growing at its present rate, its economy will be larger than Britain's in 15 years. Should this be the future of India, it could indeed be an exciting time for property investors.

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