BENGALURU: Property developer Sobha said its new sales fell during the fourth quarter compared to last year as the real estate sector continues to struggle.

Sales dropped 14% to 0.88 million square feet space, for the three months ended March 2016, from 1.03 million square feet, a year earlier, the Bengaluru-based company said in a filing with the BSE.
“An improvement in the absorption rates of commercial real estate on account of new employment generation has also been noticed. However, the demand for residential segment remained muted in almost all markets across the country,” the company said
Total average price realisation rose to Rs 6,403 from Rs 6,299 but revenue from property sales fell to Rs 567.1 crore from Rs 648 crore in the fourth quater. “The overall realisation was lower on account of greater contribution from Sobha Dream Acres Project in Bangalore,” Sobha added.

Bengaluru delivered a strong performance during the last fiscal and continues to display resilience and stability, while the performance of the other markets was lower than expected on account of the ongoing sector specific challenges.

Sobha also informed that it has made a soft launch of the first phase of the group housing project in Gurgaon. The total saleable area of the project is 3.23 million sq ft. The company has obtained all the requisite project approvals for the project and the formal launch is scheduled in the first quarter of 2017.

[Source:- The Times Of India ]