2008 is going to be a successful year for Indian Real Estate Industry. According to industry body Assocham the Real Estate sector saw a 30-35 per cent 2007 growth in retail and 40-45 per cent in real estate sectors respectively. Predictions are that the boom will continue even in 2008.

The following figures were revealed in a report issued by Assocham. Organised and unorganised retail sizes in 2007 has been estimated at US$300 billion which is likely to grow to US$365 billion in 2008 and will further reach the size of US$440 billion by 2010. “Out of (India´s) retail industry, worth over US$300 billion, the organised retail segment is less than 5 per cent which works out to be slightly more than US$16 billion,” said Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot.

Also to be noticed are the growth rate fugures of 2007, in the year, the retail sector ended up with a growth of 25-28 per cent whereas the real estate industry saw a growth of 35-38 per cent, according to report. As predicted by Assocham, the organised retail segment should witness an additional investment of US$25-28 billion by 2008 and in 2010 the investment size would be around US$70 billion.

Organised retailers occupied a space of one million sq ft in 2002, which shot up to nearly 14 million sq ft in 2007. “In 2008, the space occupation in the organised retail sector is likely to be 16 million sq ft as retailers like Reliance, Plaza, DLF and even Aditya Birla Group will witness their major expansion drives in the retail sector,” said Mr Dhoot.

With respect to the real estate sector, the market-size is estimated at US$15 billion which has been growing at a pace of 35-38 per cent in the last couple of years and is likely to touch US$90 billion by 2015. As a result, huge investments are coming into the sector.

The year 2007 has been a record- breaking year for the Indian Real Estate Industry. The entire year witnessed immense boom in the sector overcoming all the predictions of possible realty doom.

Some of the stupendous real estate deals of the year included the sale of a 7,107 sq metre plot at the Bandra Kurla Complex belonging to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for an astounding Rs 5.04 lakh per sqm, the highest bid for land anywhere in the country.

Also an apartment at Nariman Point attracting a Rs 97,842 per sq ft bid from a UK-based NRI proved to be an all-time high of sorts, besides reinforcing the popular sentiment that Mumbai holds the beacon on the real estate front.

The 9,178-acre township project ‘New Bangalore City’ at Bidadi, which realty major DLF bagged in consortium with the Dubai-based Limitless, turned out to be the highest and the single largest realty investment in the country so far. The project is expected to generate over Rs 50,000-crore value.

Not to forget the he realty score in the capital market. The market was on a high with the initial public offering of DLF raking in a record Rs 9,625 crore. A stunning number of township projects (totalling 210) were announced during the year, though some analysts say acreage was given the go by in the estimation.

IT sector was one of the major grosser with large volumes generated in IT office space. The residential segment too was closely IT-driven and reported robust growth. Non-IT commercial space too kept pace, more in line with the overall economic growth.

The year also saw a rising demand for quality manpower, and the salaries of civil engineers soared as also the need for their services.

Developers were on a roll, announcing plans to build in the next few years what they had been planning to build since their inception

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the largest insurance firm of the country revealed its plans to consolidate its real estate portfolio across the country. In an advertisement the company said that Expression of interest is being invited from professional consultancy organizations for consolidating our real estate portfolio.

The consultancy involves feasibility study, including techno-economic viability assessment of expected growth potential, and investment opportunities in sectors such as commercial, housing and retail for fresh acquisition, it said.

LIC is also planning to develop existing vacant plots and redevelop old properties besides making fresh acquisitions of land. The Insurance Firm is interested in acquiring properties in tier I and tier II cities for own use and for investment purposes. For development of unencumbered plots at places such as Kolkata, Jaipur, Chennai, Kanpur and Ahmedabad, some new locations might be added in future, the advertisement said. LIC had ventured into real estate business in 2005, in a bid to get more returns from its properties.

The last date for submission of bids is 25 January. LIC, which was formed in 1956 with the Union government contributing the capital, had valuation surplus of Rs15,127 crore for the year ended 2006-07. The state-run insurer has more than 2,040 branches and offices in Fiji, Mauritius and the UK.