Mumbai: Pune-based real estate developer D S Kulkarni has entered the US real estate market amidst a slowdown in housing business and a melt-down in the home finance market there.

DSK is smelling business potential in the US despite the current slowdown and is the first organised sector real estate player from India to enter in the US market.

With popular film actress Madhuri Dixit on its board, DSK has floated a fully-owned subsidiary in Delaware, US, to develop residential and commercial projects.

Initially, the company would cater to the demands of the Indians settled there, company chairman D S Kulkarni said.

However, a large number of non-Indians have also queued up to buy the houses being constructed by the company, he said.

DSK, Kulkarni said, has acquired about 18 acres of land in New Jersey and has undertaken construction of over one lakh sq ft. The company has already invested Rs80 crore and plans to invest another Rs100 crore over the next one year.

Kulkarni said the cost of land in the US worked out to about $70-80 per sq ft while the cost of construction is about $80-90 per sq ft, besides $10 per sq ft by way of other expenses. At a selling price of $250 per sq ft the margin available is reasonable, he said.

He said family houses built by the company are selling for $1.3-1.5 million. But acquisition of land is quite a tough job, he added.

The country has the best regulations. Rules are clear-cut and standards already set. If you follow the rules, doing business is easy, he said.

The housing loan crisis has affected land prices adversely in the US, he said, adding this the right time to buy land there.

He said DSK has plans to enter the UK and Australia and expects a much larger part of the company''s turnover to come from the overseas activities over the years.

The group currently has 12 projects in various cities like Pune, Mumbai, Nasik and Bangalore, Kulkarni said, adding, the company has completed about 12.5 million sq ft of development while close to 30 million sq ft of area is under development.