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.

India’s financial capital Mumbai is getting ready for a new world record for hosting a 117-storey residential building, thanks to Lodha Developers. When this skyscraper becomes a reality in 2014, it will obliterate the current record held by Q1, built in 2005 in Gold Coast, Australia. The Mumbai high-rise, named aptly World One, will measure 1450 ft, while the 80-storied Q1 stands at 1058 ft.

Lodha group announced the Rs 2000 crore Lodha Place Project that includes two more residential towers in addition to World One. The project will be located on the sprawling 17-acre plot in Lower Parel, presently occupied by the defunct Shrinivas Mill.

World One will have 300 apartments in all, including three & four bedroom flats, villas with private swimming pools and 10,000 sq ft duplex apartments. The price tag of the apartments and villas are equally steep, ranging from Rs 7.5 crore to Rs 50 crore.

Abhishek Lodha, MD, Lodha group said that the project would bring global lifestyle to India and Mumbai. He equated it to the Empire State Building of the USA that symbolized America’s rise in the 30s. The same trend happened in Asia with the Petronas Twin Towers and Shanghai World Financial Center. World One would do the same to Mumbai and emerge as its most memorable landmarks.

Lodha Group has roped in New York-based architects Pei Cobb Freed and Partners for the project, famous for their mammoth projects such as the Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong and the Grand Louvre Expansion and Modernization.

World One is aiming for Gold LEED certification with the Green Building Council. The skyscraper will have eco-friendly features such as rainwater harvesting, water recycling, garbage recycling and solar-powered common lighting.

Lodha group is planning to fund the projects through internal accruals, pre-launch sales and some private equity investments.