The Journey - Blog of My Life 2009-12-29T10:34:26Z This blog is a journal of my activities, thoughts, musings, opinions, suggestions, comments, feelings, and all other such things - especially related to this site, Mean Bargains tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1 Movable Type Copyright (c) 2009, liveit Solved - Remote Desktop not working after tweaking services 2009-12-29T10:34:26Z 2009-12-29T10:30:51Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2091 2009-12-29T10:30:51Z I disable some of the service on my Windows XP machine which I though were not necessary. I did this in a "super tweak" hardware profile which I use only when I need the full power of my machine. That... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com Technical I disable some of the service on my Windows XP machine which I though were not necessary. I did this in a "super tweak" hardware profile which I use only when I need the full power of my machine. That is for jobs like editing AVCHD files in Premiere Elements.

However, I was unable to use RDP (Remote Destop) or get network access to the files on that machine.

After some trial and error, I was able to figure out the service which was needed - "Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)"

The name of this service should have given me some clue. Hope this helps someone out there.

]]> Dell India Next Business Day Onsite Warranty - Beware 2009-12-15T10:20:55Z 2009-12-15T10:04:49Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2090 2009-12-15T10:04:49Z I have an XPS 1330 laptop from Dell India and I purchased Next Business Day Onsite warranty to make sure that my business did not suffer much if my laptop developed a glitch. "Next Business Day" however turned out to... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com India Information I have an XPS 1330 laptop from Dell India and I purchased Next Business Day Onsite warranty to make sure that my business did not suffer much if my laptop developed a glitch.

"Next Business Day" however turned out to be "Next Business Week" for me.

One day my laptop started acting strange. It would shutdown on its own or sometimes the screen would just go blank. It looked to me like a hardware issue rather than a virus infection or software installation issues.

I called Dell regarding this issue on a Monday. It was then that they informed me that they do not support Next Business Day (NBD) service at my location. Well they should have checked that before taking my money for Next Business Day service, right?

Well I agreed to a NBD + 1 service (that is service 2 days later). The Dell representative informed me that someone would call me on Wednesday before 9:30 AM and schedule an appointment for sometime before noon.

On Wednesday, no one called till 11:00 AM. I called Dell again and they then scheduled a service for the next day (NBD + 2, Thursday). On Thursday, a Dell service technician calls me up at 10 am and asks me if it is alright if he comes in the afternoon (even though he has been asked to do my service in the morning). He says that he has another service that he would like to do before coming to me. Well unprofessional-ism at its best.

I deny his request. He comes in at 11 am and tries to repair my laptop by relacing motherboard, heat sink, LCD screen and LCD screen cable. Now after his service, my laptop does not even boot.

Anyway, Dell schedules another service for the next Monday (NBD + 5). Another technician comes in at 11 am on Monday and solves the issue by replacing the motherboard again.

Well, the moral of the story is: Do not depend on Dell, especially their Next Business Day service.

]]> Solved - "Adobe Failed to Return a Video Frame" by Adobe Premiere Elements 2009-12-15T09:43:55Z 2009-12-15T09:35:28Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2089 2009-12-15T09:35:28Z I was using Adobe Premiere Elements for editing AVCHD files captured on Sony HDR SR7. When I tried to "Share", Adobe Premiere Elements would give me the error "Adobe Failed to Return a Video Frame". For many days I... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com I was using Adobe Premiere Elements for editing AVCHD files captured on Sony HDR SR7. When I tried to "Share", Adobe Premiere Elements would give me the error "Adobe Failed to Return a Video Frame".

For many days I searched for a solution. I tried searching for a gap in the timeline and also tried to have "Black Video" that spanned the entire timeline to make sure that there are no gaps that I am missing. These were the suggestions give on videomaker.com support forum.

However, in my case the solution was to make sure that I do not do "Log Off" > "Switch User". I was doing this in order to keep my screen private while I was away from my work table. Once I stopped doing "log off", this error disappeared.

On similar lines, I would assume that having a screen saver kick in might also cause issues. So make sure that your screen saver is disabled.

]]> Video For The Web - Settings, Tips, H.264 2009-12-15T09:34:41Z 2009-12-14T06:18:15Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2088 2009-12-14T06:18:15Z If you plan to put up your video files on the web there is one thing that you absolutely need to consider - H.264 encoding. If you are putting your videos on Youtube or similar service, then you need... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com Technical If you plan to put up your video files on the web there is one thing that you absolutely need to consider - H.264 encoding. If you are putting your videos on Youtube or similar service, then you need not bother about this. Youtube takes care of the encoding.

However, if you are reading this article, it's very likely that you do the hosting of your videos on your own site. Since Adobe Flash has started supporting H.264 encoding, you can have high quality videos in small file sizes. This means that the people who see your videos can get enjoy quality at lower bandwidths.

I shot most of my videos in AVCHD (Sony HDR SR7). I used Adobe Premiere Elements for editing. When the time came to publish the videos on to the web, I had to do quite a bit research to find the optimal path. If you are using any other video editing software, get a high quality DV AVI or MPEG4 file and then proceed with using Handbrake.

Initially I considered publishing in 720p. However, the people who watch my videos do it on their computer monitor and it did not really warrant a HD format. So I decided to stick with NTSC DV.

First a warning - do not use Premiere Elements > Share > Online option. It gives you really bad quality.

After getting your video edited and ready for publishing go to Share > Personal Computer. Choose QuickTime. Select "Local Area Network" preset.

Now you need to modify this preset. Click on Advanced. Set your Frame Width and Height to the source resolution. Note that you need to have square PAR (Pixel Aspect Ratio) and so adjust the Frame Width appropriately. See next paragraph for a bit more explanation on this aspect.

If you had for example shot your videos in 1440x1080 with HD Anamorphic 1080 (1.333) PAR, then you should set the width to 1920 with square pixels. (That is 1440 * 1.333 = 1920)

video_settings.jpg

Set the Video Codec to H.264, Quality to 100, Field Order to None (Progressive) and bit rate to 10,000 kbps. Set your audio settings to AAC Stereo 44KHz. Now save your file and you will get a huge .mov file.

Download and install Handbrake.

Open Hanbrake and choose Normal Profile under Regular in the pane on the left side of the window. Now open the .mov file by clicking on Source > Video File. Modify the settings under Video tab to select Constant Quality 50.98% RF 25 by moving the slider. I found this quality setting to be adequate. If you need better quality, you can go for a higher percentage value.

Modify the settings under Audio tab to AAC (faac) stereo, 48 kHz, 64 Kbps.

Change the settings under Advanced tab to that shown below.
handbrake_settings.jpg

Now click on start to get the .m4v file. Rename this file to .flv and you can publish this file on your site.

The above steps in my experience has given very good quality video at reasonable file sizes. Hope these instructions have helped you in getting the right settings for video publishing on the web.

]]> Making Your System Lean and Mean for AVCHD Editing with Adobe Premiere Elements 2009-12-01T10:59:53Z 2009-12-01T10:41:56Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2087 2009-12-01T10:41:56Z Recently I have been playing around with Adobe Premiere Elements. I have been trying to edit AVCHD files in Pre Elements. Though I have a Core 2 Quad and 4 GB memory, AVCHD + Premiere elements were stressing the system.... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com General Recently I have been playing around with Adobe Premiere Elements. I have been trying to edit AVCHD files in Pre Elements. Though I have a Core 2 Quad and 4 GB memory, AVCHD + Premiere elements were stressing the system.

So I decided to get the machine to be lean and mean by disabling as many services and processes as possible. To this end, I used the following resources:

Creating multiple Hardware profiles with different services enabled/disabled

Deciding on which services to disable

I created a "Super Tweak" profile with all the unnecessary services disabled. In addition, I unchecked some of the entries from "Startup" in msconfig.

Speed up tricks from Black Viper

To top it all off, once the system booted up, I used EnditAll to stop any other useless stuff. By that I mean processes and services not required for Premiere Elements.

It would be a good idea to "EnditAll" your anti-virus software for the time you are using the system solely for AVCHD editing.

One issue that I faced was that my boot time suddenly seemed to increase. I was able to narrow it down to "Shell Hardware Detection" service. Disabling the service seem to increase the boot time considerably. So I left it enabled in my "Super Tweak" hardware profile.

Keep in mind that "FLEXnet Licensing Service" needs to be running for Adobe Premiere Elements to run.

]]> I Hate The DOCOMO Train Ad 2009-12-29T05:46:45Z 2009-10-31T09:07:54Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2086 2009-10-31T09:07:54Z There is nothing more to say about the DOCOMO Train Ad. It is just plain disgusting. Comment (12/26/2009 8:32 PM) : i ****** hate every docomo ad, and its music.every now and then it comes and i feel like breaking... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com General There is nothing more to say about the DOCOMO Train Ad. It is just plain disgusting.

Comment (12/26/2009 8:32 PM) :
i ****** hate every docomo ad, and its music.every now and then it comes and i feel like breaking off my tv

]]> Review of club suite experience at The Leela Kempinski, Kovalam 2009-08-18T16:41:10Z 2009-08-18T16:41:10Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2085 2009-08-18T16:41:10Z Leela Kempinski touts its Club Suite as the ultimate experience in luxury. However, the one we had did not fall into that category and left a lot to be desired. When we checked in, the polite hostess informed us that... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com India Information Leela Kempinski touts its Club Suite as the ultimate experience in luxury. However, the one we had did not fall into that category and left a lot to be desired.

When we checked in, the polite hostess informed us that we had been upgraded to a honeymoon package. She further informed us that a candle light dinner and 45 mins massage was included in the package. We thought, good, economic slow down has its bright side. Frankly, the upgrade was not a big deal for us as we did not think that we could make use of it. We were traveling with our 11 month old.

The duty manager seemed to recognize us from our previous visit and came to greet us. Seeing that we had an infant worth us, he proudly mentioned that the chef can make anything that is necessary for the kid (Club suites come with24 hour butler service).

Overall we had a great checkin experience. Everything great ended there.

When we called to make reservation for the massage, the spa people mention that they do not have us listed under the upgraded package. The front desk then calls us to inform that the upgrade was a error and that we are infact not upgraded. What a way to treat an upgrade (error)!


Later that day we thought we would give iddli (Kerala rice cake) to our daughter. We wanted some non spicy chamanthi (simple coconut dish) to go with it. Chamanthi is something that a chef can conjure up in 5 mins time.

The person taking the order mentioned that there were two regular (spicy) chamanthi available. When we asked if they can make us a non spicy chamanthi, he very hesitantly agreed.

When they brought us the food, the server very calmly pointed out that they have got us only the regular dish. When we mentioned the duty managers promise he asked us to wait for 5 mins and then got us the non spicy version.

There were a few other minor issues too. Overall our experience was probably at the level of a "garden view" room!

]]> Sunny diamonds Trivandrum - please open on time 2009-08-17T05:07:32Z 2009-08-17T05:02:25Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2084 2009-08-17T05:02:25Z As I did not have Tvm showroom number, checked with Sunny Diamonds Cochin. They mentioned that the Tvm showroom opens at 10. Now it is 10:30. I'm still waiting outside.... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com Kerala Information As I did not have Tvm showroom number, checked with Sunny Diamonds Cochin. They mentioned that the Tvm showroom opens at 10. Now it is 10:30. I'm still waiting outside.

]]> The Rise and Fall of Dominos Pizza, Trivandrum 2009-03-01T05:53:00Z 2009-03-01T05:44:43Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2083 2009-03-01T05:44:43Z After having suffered the low quality pizzas of local chains like Pizza Corner, it was a welcome relief to have a Dominos Pizza place in Trivandrum. We were genuinely surprised to find that Dominos stuck with the original Pizza recepies... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com Trivandrum Information After having suffered the low quality pizzas of local chains like Pizza Corner, it was a welcome relief to have a Dominos Pizza place in Trivandrum. We were genuinely surprised to find that Dominos stuck with the original Pizza recepies and did not "Indianize" the standard ones. Of course, they had desi varieties, but Pepperoni was authentic Pepperoni.

We usually order once every month, and to our disappointment, for the past few months the quality of pizza has come down drastically at Dominos. I can only take a guess as to why this might have happened - maybe the training of the staff wore out, maybe the monitoring process is not good enough, maybe the economic slowdown has had its effect... The fact remains that we do not relish the pizzas from Dominos as we used to.

Waiting for someone at Dominos to take note of it and get the standard back to where lovers of Pizza really want it to be.

]]> Taj Malabar, Kochi - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 2009-02-24T16:03:21Z 2009-02-24T15:23:52Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2009:/weblog/the_journey/1.2082 2009-02-24T15:23:52Z We stayed at the Taj Malabar, Cochin recently on two occassions. The first time it was for 3 days in December and the second time it was for a week in Feb. The second time we stayed in a suite... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com Kerala Information We stayed at the Taj Malabar, Cochin recently on two occassions. The first time it was for 3 days in December and the second time it was for a week in Feb. The second time we stayed in a suite room.

Overall our experience was good on both ocassions. The following lines summarizes what we felt about Taj Malabar at Ernakulam.

The Good


  1. Courteous staff

  2. Food quality was usually good. Exceptions (meaning these were bad): Kerala meals, any dish with Lamb in it, payasams


The Bad

  1. Wood panelled floors in the rooms - these are creaky as hell

  2. Cots are creaky as well

  3. Very poor sound proofing of the rooms - you can hear all the intimate details of your neighbours


The Ugly

  1. One time, our dinner order took two hours to come. After about an hour of waiting, when we called the room service, they informed us that the waiter had dropped the dishes. That is ok, but they could have atleast called up and informed that the dinner would be late. To make matters worse, they told us that the dinner would come in 10 mins. However it took another hour.

  2. On another occassion I wanted to order mutton stew. I explicitly asked the person taking my order to confirm that it is mutton and not lamb - however when the dish came in, it was lamb and very poor quality lamb at that.

  3. While checking out, we wanted to make sure that the bill was ready at the front desk - so we called them and informed the same, and also mentioned the items which we had consumed at the mini bar so that they could include them in the bill. When we reached the front desk, they had prepared the bill without including the mini bar items. They then had to redo the bill and waste precious time

]]> Perfect Agri Management Corporation - Do not use for Landscaping in Trivandrum 2008-06-14T04:51:55Z 2008-06-14T04:31:22Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2008:/weblog/the_journey/1.2076 2008-06-14T04:31:22Z We used the services of Perfect Agri Management Corporation (PAMC) for landscaping our house premises. The problems we faced with them were: 1. They do not study the area carefully - they lay grass (lawn) where there is not enough... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com Trivandrum Information We used the services of Perfect Agri Management Corporation (PAMC) for landscaping our house premises. The problems we faced with them were:

1. They do not study the area carefully - they lay grass (lawn) where there is not enough sunlight - The grass does not grow well and you end up having to remove it later and put something like baby chips, gravel, etc. This shows their lack of expertise.

2. They do not have much knowledge in different types of plants. They have a standard set - heliconia and some creepers. These they force upon you saying that it will look great. You will end up having a mini forest of Heliconias.

3. They do a standard set of things for all projects - they do not show any creativity in coming up with new ideas. So unless you are willing to micromanage the design and layout, they will do a terrible job.

4. Their monthly maintenance is extremely poor. Do not even consider signing an annual maintenance contract (AMC) with them. They will take your money and give you scant service for the full year. If you have some issues, there is a government like red tape to ensure that it is taken care of in the lease efficient way. You need to give the complaint to them in writing. They will get the complaint (through their sub contractor) after one month and then decide if to take action on the issue! - all this are written based on my experience with them

5. If you are not careful, they will try to use expensive items and charge you a fortune for them.

6. As Perfect Agri is doing big projects from govt and other private companies, they are unlikely to give house type projects much importance. This is reflected in their overall service and efficiency.

We had to do all the designing of the landscape region ourselves. Perfect Agri was OK in executing what we had designed. We did not have to micromanage the everyday operations. However, that is the only thing positive about them. In all other respects they are terrible.

If you plan on getting your plot landscaped, the best option might be to get a gardener and make him do all the work under your supervision. If you need to have larger scale landscaping try to go with some of the other small companies that are starting out in Trivandrum these days instead of Perfect Agri Management Corporation.

]]> Yahoos Bad Partner Sites List 2008-06-14T04:31:12Z 2008-06-14T04:27:10Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2008:/weblog/the_journey/1.2075 2008-06-14T04:27:10Z Here is a list of bad partner sites of Yahoo Search Marketing (YSM). The first set is that which I analyzed from my server log file. The second part I gathered from others list on the internet. Yahoos bad parnters... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com General Here is a list of bad partner sites of Yahoo Search Marketing (YSM). The first set is that which I analyzed from my server log file. The second part I gathered from others list on the internet. Yahoos bad parnters is the reason why you will notice low click through rate (CTR) on Yahoo Panama when compared to Google Adwords. This is not an exhaustive list. After banning these sites, I saw some improvement in my CTR. However, it is still not anywhere near that I get at Google.

Fist set (from my server log analysis):
toseeka.com
angelinajoliewatch.com
bestyellowpages.com
challengethisdeal.com
codesheaven.com
forallcouponcodes.info
k-live.com
localpages.com
metacrawler.com
onlinecouponall.info
rr.com
superfreshgrocery.com
tlc-ceramics-and-gifts.com
webcrawler.com
usfreebie.com
grocercoupons.com
shoppingessentials.com
mypoints.com
freecoupon-s.net
mywebsearch.com
nexplore.com
parkingspa.com
pantone-music.com
searchnut.com
direct-us.net
couponmoms.com
shortcut.com
cuponsonline.com
optimum.net
burrocacao.net
bradslist.com
smartsourcecoupons.biz
couponbook.com
shopica.com
wwwfreebieforce.com

Second set (from sources on internet):
LoanForSmallBusiness.info
nuseek.com
creditcard1024.info
instafinder.com
instantcreditcardproviders.com
creditcarduk.com
center.us.com
yourcreditcards.org
frequentflyer.com
www-creditcards.us
globalcreditcard.com
www-creditcard.biz
www-creditcard.info
wealthygeek.com
moneysearch.com
creditcardclub.com
cards.com
creditcard4you.info
goodsearch.com
loanspersonal.info
boakwon.com
findstuff.com
starware.com
dalsemi.org
avantfind.com
cencoinc.com
personalweb.com
credituniondirectory.info
equestbiz.com
unsecuredcredit.com
br11.com
alsaunders.com
janicevidal.com
ebay.com
bankcard.com
gascreditcardsinfo.com
creditcaard.net
consumerratings.com
flowersland.com
checking-accounts-101.com
cheapcreditcards.com
yoursearchfinder.com
avotv.com
unsecuredloandirectory.com
banks.com
cardfind.com
evahuang.com
homeloansafterbankruptcy.net
wrenkeasler.com
loan-bad-credit.com
credit-card.sc
unionworkercredit.com
surveynetworks.com
applyforacreditcards.net
pages.us.com
techbuyer.com
searchcreditcards.com
moneyorder.com
radiofreecash.com
acreditcard.org
acceptcreditcardonlineguide.info
ezfinda.com
wwwcreditcards.com
etctv.com
look-up-results.com
vcd1688.com
apersonalloan.net
mysmallbusinessloan.info
personalonloans.com
mojizu.com
the-personal-loan.com
onlinepersonalloans.info
bad-personal-loan-cash.com
loanscalculators.net
onlinepersonalloan.info
onlypersonalloans.com
personal-loans-101.info
loanportal.biz
personalsloans.info
peoplepc.com
gocoole.net
l-o-a-ns.org
loansz.com
badcredit-yesloan.com
creditloanpoor.com
chemeketa.edu
dpxmldsl.verizon.net
zerodown.com
www-personalloans.info
waumucards.com
loanaloan.com
collateralnow.com
lighthousefinancial.com
bankruptcyamerica.net
exciteher.com
personalonloan.com
tastefulfindings.com
allbestloan.com
tsp.com
cardltd.com
firstcommonwealth.com
mortgagesportal.net
bestpersonalloans.us
armeniaweek.com
picks-finder.com
ownloanpro.com
homebusinessmag.com
unsecuredbusinessloansusa.com
quackloan.com

]]> Configuring VPN with Xincom Router (603) for Office Network 2008-05-09T11:22:51Z 2008-05-09T10:35:53Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2008:/weblog/the_journey/1.2068 2008-05-09T10:35:53Z After setting up a small office, I needed to access the computers at the office while I am at home. The easiest way this can be accomplished is by implementing a VPN. As I was already using a Xincom 603... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com Technical After setting up a small office, I needed to access the computers at the office while I am at home. The easiest way this can be accomplished is by implementing a VPN.

As I was already using a Xincom 603 Twin WAN Router (with VPN endpoint capabilities), I aimed to make use of the VPN functionality of the Xincom 603 for this purpose. For the client side, I used The Greenbow VPN client.

Setting up a VPN is a complicated task. There are many parameters that you need to get right. Essentially there are two phases of negotiation for IPSEC VPN. You need to make sure that the client and the router are configured correctly with the same parameters.

Xincom documentation for VPN set up is very minimal. So I was having a tough time setting it up. What came to my rescue was documentation for similar hardware from Syswan. This documentation does a very good job of describing the various steps involved in setting up the Xincom 603 router. As the underlying hardware of Xincom and Syswan is essentially the same, you will have no problem getting your VPN configured with this guide.

VPN configuration on Xincom consist of two pages - IKE Global Setup and IPSec Policy Setup. Do not get overwhelmed my the many options. Spend some time playing with these pages and the VPN client and you will figure out the essentials.

As for the configuration of the client, Syswan documentation comes to your aid too. It so happened that the VPN client that I chose - The Greenbow VPN client - is essentially the same as the client that Syswan provides to its users. So if you follow the guide for the client from Syswan, it is very easy to get your VPN up and running in not time.

Xincom has the "distinguished ID" in the IPSEC Policy setup page for Remote Security Gateway. This is what you need to use if you do not have a public static ip address for your client side. The corresponding entry for distinguished ID is "Local ID" -> Email on the P1 Advanced page of The Greenbow client. You also need to make sure that the "Aggressive Mode" under "Advanced Features" is checked.

I however had some issues with the VPN client running from my LAN network at home. The problems were caused by the Xincom box that I used at home - Xincom 602. Though I was able to establish a tunnel through the Greenbow client, I was not able to ping the remove endpoint or any computers in the remote network.

Xincom 602 supports VPN passthrough. However, its firewall has some strict rules and it detects the packets from the VPN router as "port scan" and drops them. So you need to configure some Firewall Exception rules in order to make the client work through Xincom 602.

I was able to get some guides by contacting Xincom support. These guides tell you to Sysfilter exceptions for UDP ports 192, 500 and for ESP and GRE protocols. For ESP and GRE protocols give port range as 0-0. You also need to do protocol binding for these UDP ports and ESP & GRE protocols. I also added UDP port 4500 to the list. You can find these guides from Xincom here - see "Advanced Configuration Guides" towards the bottom of the page.

The Greenbow VPN client costs money. So if you want a free VPN client, you may want to consider Shrew Soft VPN client. I have not tried the Shrew Soft VPN client but it looks promising.

]]> First Signs of Real Estate Bubble Bursting 2008-01-30T09:11:47Z 2008-01-30T09:05:49Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2008:/weblog/the_journey/1.2058 2008-01-30T09:05:49Z I was surprised to find that the next day after I wrote a blog on how real estate prices in India were poised to collapse, The Economic Times carried an article mentioning the fact that the housing and land prices... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com India Information I was surprised to find that the next day after I wrote a blog on how real estate prices in India were poised to collapse, The Economic Times carried an article mentioning the fact that the housing and land prices in India have already started to see a dip.

The Economic Times reported that in major cities, the prices have fallen by about 5% - 10%. In some cities like Kochi where the prices had sky rocketed in the past few years, the fall has been even sharper. The ET also reported that there is a sharp fall in the number of transactions. The property developers were also adopting a wait and watch stance to see if they need to shelf some of their more ambitious projects.

Todays Malayala Manorama - the leading daily in Kerala - also had an article as to how the not lowering of interest rates by RBI has dashed the hopes of real estate dealers and developers of a recovery. A recovery - meaning the prices have started to go down.

The other interesting tidbit that I came across is that the number of real estates "for sale" advertisements by brokers have gone done significantly.

All this points to an impending crash in real estate prices in India.

]]> Real Estate Price Bubble in India 2008-01-29T10:42:19Z 2008-01-29T10:16:07Z tag:www.meancoupons.com,2008:/weblog/the_journey/1.2057 2008-01-29T10:16:07Z Deja Vu - that is what I feel when I see the current real estate prices in India. The prices for land and housing in India has been on a tear. The prices have shot through the roof (pun intended!)... liveit jchacko@casteltech.com India Information Deja Vu - that is what I feel when I see the current real estate prices in India. The prices for land and housing in India has been on a tear. The prices have shot through the roof (pun intended!) not only in the main cities but in the second and third tier cities as well. It looks like the days of the internet boom when NASDAQ was increasing in leaps and bounds. Finally the internet bubble burst and left behind a trail of destruction in terms of investment and speculation. The real estate prices in India seems to set for a similar course.

One need not look back as far as the internet boom to realize what is in store for real estate prices in India. The recent bursting of the housing boom in US is a more accurate reflection of the scene currently in India. The only difference is that the bursting of this bubble is not yet over. It might take another 2 more years before the housing prices in the US reach bottom.

The rise in land prices in India has been so drastic that there seems to be no logical reason behind it. Much of the rise in price is due to speculation. There are land brokers and real estate agents who pay an advance for a plot of land and then resell the land to a third party for a huge profit. This practise has been so rampant that it has created huge artificial demand.

This method of advancing a token amount and then flipping the land to a third party in effect creates highly leveraged conditions. High leverage, in layman's terms means the method to generate profits without putting the required capital. Using leverage is required for certain business activities, but when it is carried out on a scale that is not controlled, it leads to a highly unstable situation.

When the prices start to fall, these speculative interest will collapse as a house of cards. Panic will set in and people will just stop buying houses or property. This will create a huge surplus supply and the prices will bottom out.

In a normal cycle this increase and decrease in prices will usually be on a slower pace. However, when the increase has been so drastic, the fall in prices will be even more drastic. The fall in prices will also create a huge vacuum in demand as genuine customers of real estate and housing property will wait to see how far the prices will fall.

This is what is currently happening in the United States. The crash of the real estate prices in India is guaranteed. The only question is when. As many said after the internet boom & bust, what has gone up will have to come down - gravity still rules!

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