OMAXE PAYS BACK RS 201 CRORE TO INDIABULLS

Cash-strapped realty company, Omaxe has managed to pay Indiabulls Financial Services Rs 21 crore in December 2008. With this payment, Omaxe has been able to pay Rs 201 crore against the total loan of Rs 300 crore it took from the latter in December 2007. The company had pledged 2.5 crore of its shares, translating into 14.44% equity stake, to Indiabulls in December 2007. The loan was repayable over a three-year period, with Omaxe having the option of repaying within six months also.

SLUGGISH REALTY MARKET TO JUMPSTART AGAIN

Measures announced by the Central government to stimulate the economy by ensuring cheaper loans for homes and industry has raised hopes for people in the real estate and banking sectors. Banks like IDBI Home Finance, ICICI and SBI are anticipating that demand for home loans would increase by 20% in a couple of weeks as queries for home loans have already started pouring. People are now inquiring about home loans after finding that the Union government has decided to make loans cheaper, said a senior bank official. Bank officials also feel that steps being taken by the government to revive the economy would also end all the rumours that have affected the loan business more than the global slowdown

NHB LAUNCHES HOUSING PRICE INDEX IN 5 INDIAN CITIES

In a move that is expected to bring transparency to the real estate market, finance minister P Chidambaram launched the official Housing Price Index, developed by India's home loans regulator, the National Housing Bank. Named as NHB Residex, the index has been introduced as a pilot for five cities-Bangalore, Bhopal, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. The index covers different localities in each of the five cities for five years: 2001-2005. The index will track the movements of residential property prices and can be used to estimate the house wealth, considered an important component of personal wealth. Banks and housing finance companies can also use it in portfolio evaluation and collateral security for their housing loans.