V Nagarajan

India’s office leasing has touched a historic high at 47 million sqft during the first three quarters of this year. The leasing activity which rose by more than 30 per cent on an annual basis will now surpass the previous peak of 2018 to more than 60 million sqft by end of this year. Bengaluru along with Hyderabad, NCR and Mumbai, accounted for about 80 per cent of the leasing during 2019 YTD.

The share of tech corporates in overall space take-up rose from 31 per cent to 40 per cent on an annual basis. They were followed by flexible space operators (14 per cent) and research, consulting and analytics firms (10 per cent).

Despite concerns regarding a domestic economic slowdown, overall space take-up by Indian corporates in 2019 YTD stood at exactly the same level as 2018. The share of US-based multinationals expanded, clearly elucidating India office market as an outlier given India’s strategic strengths of cost / availability of talent / real estate.

India is now an almost 625 million sqft office market – Supply addition rose by more than 80 per cent on an annual basis in 2019 YTD, with about 43.5 million sq. ft. being added across cities. Four cities – Hyderabad, Bangalore, NCR and Mumbai – accounted for more than 80 per cent of this supply addition. Rental growth continues and quarterly rental growth was reported across most key cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, NCR, Pune and Kochi.

With the office market looking at another strong year in terms of space take-up, rental growth is expected to sustain across most relevant micro markets for the next few quarters. This continues to attract both institutional investors and developers, as nearly $1.7 billion worth of capital was deployed in Q3, 2019, out of which $1.5 billion (nearly 90 per cent) was infused across core office assets.

The overall quantum of investments for 2019 YTD reached $4.6 billion, out of which more than 40 per cent accounted for office sector investments. Investment grade office assets and land parcels continued to garner maximum number of investments, especially from foreign players.

While investments in core built-up assets was mostly led by private equity and other institutional investors, investments in land was driven by developers aiming at strengthening their commercial pipeline in cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune.

Developers focusing on increasing their foot-print to other key markets across India have seen momentum, with a few preparing to list REITs on the Indian Stock Exchange.

Q: In our family we are two brothers and a sister who got married and settled abroad. My father died a few years and my mother had transferred ancestral property to us. Now my sister’s husband is demanding a share in the property. Please advise us. Paresh, Sharjah.

It is assumed that your mother had absolute rights and transferred the ancestral property to you and your brother through a valid registered document. In that event, the transfer would be valid and binding on all the parties. In the event the property was not transferred and the document not registered, then your sister may become entitled to raise a claim.

Q: My father made a Will bequeathing his property to the legal heirs. Now my brother is contesting stating that at the time of making the Will, medical certificate was not produced. Is it valid? Mukul Goel, Dubai.

So long as you establish that your father was in a sound condition at the time of executing the Will and complied with other conditions for executing the Will, the onus on the propounder is discharged. A medical certificate is not compulsory as long as your father was in a sound state of mind and aware of his obligations.

Q: I am in the process of gifting my immovable property in India to my brother. Is registration of gift deed compulsory? Please clarify. Harshit, Dubai.

Yes. Registration of a gift deed with the sub-registrar of assurances is mandatory. You will have to draft the document on a stamp paper, have it attested by two witnesses and register it.

There is no tax implication when you are gifting immovable property to certain relatives like your spouse, brothers and sisters of either of your parents, lineal ascendant, your spouse’s siblings, etc. and in case of Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) any member belonging to the family. However, you will have to pay stamp duty.