India ranks 13th in the residential sector in terms of price rise for the fiscal 2009-10. Property consultancy firm Knight Frank, surveyed over 47 countries, and found that more than half (53 percent) had witnessed price increase in the residential segment. China topped this list. According to Knight Frank Head of Residential Research Liam Bailey, “Growth has been driven by a confluence of factors: low interest rates, first-time buyer concessions, strong population growth and a lagging supply response. However, with interest rates now rising, the government withdrawing stimulus and the supply response picking up, we expect house price growth to slow over the next six to nine months.”

India recorded a growth of 8.4 percent in 2009-10 when compared to the previous year. China topped the list with a growth of 68 percent. Bailey added that, “A recovery in the global housing market is undoubtedly underway. In Q1 2009, 33 per cent of the countries recorded positive annual growth. In Q1 2010, this figure was closer to 53 per cent but still some way off the figure of 90 per cent recorded in Q1 2006.”

Next to China, Hong Kong took the place with 30.6 percent growth, followed by Singapore (24.3 percent), Australia (20 percent) and Israel (15.9 percent). Asia-Pacific region saw the strongest growth, with prices increasing by 17.8 percent on an average. China, Hong Kong and Singapore registered an annual growth over 24 percent. The countries which saw a drop in price by more than 30 percent were Lithuania, Ukraine and Estonia.

An impressive 3.5 lakh people is estimated to be hired by Indian establishments in the June-ending quarter. This was revealed by a survey conducted by Ma Foi Randstad, a leading integrated HR service provider in the country. The survey goes on to forecast that ‘driven by India’s economic turnaround post downturn, hiring in the organized sector is set to pick up at a greater pace in the second quarter’.

The latest survey reveals that during January-March quarter, 1,53,564 jobs were created in India and predicts that during April-June quarter, 3,47,463 jobs will be created. The year 2010 may witness the creation of around one million jobs in the country.

The most promising development in the employment market revealed by the survey results is that the hiring spree is taking place across sectors and not limited to a few. Healthcare sector lead the show in new job creation during Jan-March quarter with a tally of 52, 752. Hospitality with 21,500 and Education, Training & Consultancy with 16,200 too came up with a good show.

Forecast for April-June quarter is again lead by healthcare sector with an estimated 96,248 new jobs. Real estate and construction sector with 52,115 jobs, hospitality with 49,000 jobs and IT & ITES sector with 34,000 jobs are also expected to contribute substantially. The jump in hiring is mostly in Real Estate and Construction, Media and Entertainment and Healthcare sectors.

The surveyed companies revealed their ‘wait and watch’ hiring strategy. Most firms said that the hiring would be spread across the year to avoid risk.

Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey is the country’s largest and most elaborate employment market study. The HR service provider has been conducting this survey since 2004. The latest survey results were based on the information gathered from 650 organizations spread over 13 industry sectors in top-eight cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.