Jolt for Sri Lanka’s condo market

New rule bars foreigners from owning private land

Sri Lanka’s expanding condominium (condo) market has been thrown into disarray and confusion following new rules barring the sale of private land to foreigners, industry officials say.

The rule, based on an announcement in the Budget 2013 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, comes in the backdrop of concern that prime properties bought by foreigners are rapidly depleted the land resources. Chairman of the state-owned Condominium Authority Kapila Gamage conceded that there is confusion at the moment with regard to the sale of condos as a result of a letter sent by the Treasury to the Commissioner General of Lands directing him not to registrar land deed transfers including condominiums of foreigners with effect from January 1st in accordance with the budget proposal.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

800 acres for huge projects in Hambantota

The Government has allocated more than 800 acres of land for several foreign and local projects in the Hambantota District. Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said the projects were aimed at attracting foreign investments in industries ranging from car assembling plants to glass and sugar factories.

Mr. Yapa said that 300 acres of land would be allocated for the setting up of three foreign universities and a local university. An Information Technology park would also be included.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

Lankans of foreign citizenship can now buy land

Persons of Sri Lankan origin currently holding foreign passports are to be granted concessions to invest in the real estate sector in the country.The concessions come in terms of the scheme of payment which was hitherto extended only to Sri Lankans living overseas, but continuing to hold Sri Lankan citizenship.

The Exchange Controller has offered concessions to Sri Lankans of foreign citizenship to allow them to purchase real estate in the country in Sri Lankan rupees, to be paid out from their Non-Resident Foreign Currency (NRFC) accounts.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

SUNCITY ADDS MODERN APARTMENT COMPLEX TO BATTARAMULLA SKYLINE

A pioneer in construction and real-estate, Suncity Property Developers (Pvt) Ltd unveiled plans on the latest addition to their extensive portfolio of apartment complexes, and introduced a new building at Battaramulla.

Located on Bodhiya Road, a mere 300 meters from the Battaramulla main road, the building will house 20 apartments over four floors, with modern facilities and conveniences including a 24-hour security service, a gymnasium, swimming pool etc. Each apartment will also be equipped with the trademark amenities including air conditioning, hot water and porcelain tiling. The apartment complex which is scheduled for completion by July 2013 is currently open for buyers who are interested in affordability, convenience and a great lifestyle.

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(Source: Adaderana.lk)

Krrish has paid only 10 % of lease for prime Fort property, admits Govt.

The Government on Friday conceded that M/s Krrish Group India has only made an initial deposit of Rs. 499.5 million or 10 per cent of the total lease premium for the Transworks House property in Colombo Fort.

Nimal Siripala de Silva, Leader of the House in response to a question raised by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said as a follow up action after making the initial deposit, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) has taken steps to vest the Heritage building site to seek the final approval to sign the lease agreement.

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(Source: Sunday Times)

BUDGET 2013: SELLING LAND TO FOREIGNERS TO BE COMPLETELY PROHIBITED

Selling land to foreigners will be completely prohibited from 2013 but will be granted on a lease system, the President proposed a short while ago in his budget speech.

Furthermore, it was proposed that land leased to foreigners will be taxed by 100%.

2012 3rd Quarter House Price Index - Prices fall across the board

LankaPropertyWeb.com's 2012 3rd quarter housing price index shows that all house, apartment, commercial and land prices in the country have suffered and are down compared to the last quarter. A weak global and local economy could be the factor behind the latest fall in prices. 

There is some glimmer of hope though as Apartment sale prices in Colombo have slightly increased and house + land prices in the northern province shows further increases. The land prices of Southern, Central and Western (apart from Colombo) have also gone up, however Colombo land prices have dropped. 

We have also noticed that most advertiser reduce their asking price after few days of posting their ads.

The full stats of the latest house price index can be found at http://www.lankapropertyweb.com/house_prices.php