I have written many pieces on ‘buy or rent real estate’. I have got feedback saying ‘If my father had also bought a flat…I would not have bought’. That may not be the right argument. It is a person’s migration from one level of strata to the other one which is marked by ‘buying’ a [...]
There are many comments and emails asking me why I am against gold and against real estate. Well I am not against gold, and neither against real estate. However what do you call a market which is completely dependent on new investors bringing their fresh money. Well some people call it a Ponzi scheme. I [...]
Prior to World War II most people in the world were happy living in rented houses. This gave rise to concepts like ‘pagdi’ where you paid a sizeable deposit and a small rent. Mumbai used to be full of such properties . In fact this gave rise to sayings like ‘Fools build (buy?) houses, Wise [...]
Why is Navi Mumbai real estate so expensive? Or is it correctly priced? Well answers are difficult to get. A decent 2 bedroom apartment costs upward of @Rs One crore. Even for a professional who has a nice starting salary of say Rs. 500,000 gross income (per annum) the cost of a flat is about [...]
Real estate is going North? Good news has been swirling around all the markets lately. GDP numbers, employment numbers, real estate numbers are all being flaunted at you saying: “Ha the recession is over”. However if you are a Chartered Accountant by training and have been in consulting, being skeptical comes easy. Once upon a [...]
Real estate broker: Your house is the best asset that you can expect to create in your life. You can expect it to appreciate well over the long run. What to do: Your home will not appreciate. It is not a wealth creating asset. It will not make you rich. Remember it is an important [...]