FACTBOX-Key facts about India's property market

 Jan 27 (Reuters) - More than a dozen Indian real estate
firms have lined up plans for initial public offers to raise
about $6 billion, buoyed by an 81 percent rise in the Mumbai
stock index .BSESN last year and as property buyers return.
[ID:nSGE60Q0AK]

 Following are key facts about India's property market.

 * The property market contributes 5-6 percent to India's
gross domestic product, or about $50 billion annually to the $1
trillion economy, Asia's third largest.

 * Total foreign direct investment in housing and real
estate in India, since investment norms were first eased in
2005, stands at $7.7 billion, including $2.2 billion in
April-November 2009.

 * The Bombay realty index .BSEREAL underperformed the
main index .SESN last year, rising 70 percent after a slump
in the first quarter, versus the market's 81 percent gain.

 * The major cities of Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore have
the most expensive residential property in India, with rates
comparable to New York, London and Tokyo, due to limited land
and the government's push to develop its services industry.
Apartment prices have risen by around a third in some parts of
India since hitting a low in the 2009 first quarter.

 * The government, wary of an asset bubble forming, has
warned that banks should be more cautious about risks in
lending to property developers at low rates. However, little
has been done yet to actually curb lending. [ID:nBOM58669]

 * India is in need of a clearer property policy to better
develop the sector, analysts said. Since 2007, the legislature
has been drafting a bill to regulate the real estate market,
but has met with resistance by developers and industry
lobbies.
 (Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee in HONG KONG and Prashant Mehra in
MUMBAI, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
 (See www.reutersrealestate.com for the global service for real
estate professional from Reuters)