According to India Property Market survey prepared by realty consultantsBrooke International, "Capital values in prime areas of Malabar Hill,Colaba, Cuffe Parade and Peddar Road continued to be stable at Rs 9,000 toRs 14,000. Capital values in the secondary areas of Bandra, Juhu are stableat Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000."

"During the first nine months of 1999, the retail loans of HDFC alone havegrown by 64 per cent to Rs 2,324 crore as compared to Rs 1,419 crore in thesimilar period last year," said HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh.

The `Property-2000' exhibition jointly conducted by the Maharashtra Chamberof Housing Industry (MCHI) and HDFC reflected the resurgence of interest inthe property market. The `Property-2000' exhibition had over 50 developersand over 400 real estate projects being developed around Mumbai and Pune.

Financial institutions together approved loan applications worth Rs 30 croreand developers conducted sales worth Rs 60 crore during the four exhibition.Says Kalpataru Constructions' managing director, Parag Munot who conductedfour sales at `Property 2000', "The interest is certainly building up. Weare not heading for a boom time, but a healthy market with genuinedevelopers and customers." Kalpataru properties that were sold included the`Karma-Kshetra' complex at King's Circle for Rs 3,400 per sq ft, `Srishti'at Mira Road for Rs 1,000 per sq ft and `Tarangani' at Thane for Rs 1900 sqft.

The retail sector in Mumbai is another area which is bullish. "Fast-foodchains and international brands dominated the retail market in areas likeLinking Road and Churchgate. The rentals in prime areas like Churchgate,Napean Sea Road, Bhulabhai Desai Road and Linking Road continued to be Rs200 to Rs 250 per square foot," observes Brooke International'svice-president, Ashok Singh.

Others like Marathon Realty's managing director, Mayur Shah are of the viewthat "the property market is getting organised with the developers making aconcerted effort to provide all the information that a customer requires.Earlier, developers never bothered to reach out to the customers."

Relocating to the suburbs has been the trend in the residential andcommercial sectors. The capital values in the commercial sector in secondaryareas like Worli, Bandra-Kurla and Andheri were stable at Rs 6,000 to Rs7,000 per square foot, according to India Property Market survey.