News Corp-backed realty portal PropTiger.com is likely to sell about 3,500 housing units worth Rs 2,100 crore during the fiscal, up 17 per cent from the last year, helped by its entry into secondary property market through the acquisition of Makaan.com.
The company had sold about 3,000 units worth Rs 1,800 crore in the fiscal 2015, PropTiger.com CEO and founder Dhruv Agarwala said.
Rupert Murdoch-backed portal is open to more acquisitions if some interesting opportunities come, he said, while ruling out any fund raising this year.
“Despite slowdown in real estate market, we have seen about 20 per cent growth aided by new line of business in the resale market in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru and Kolkata,” he told PTI.
“About 3,500 units worth Rs 2,100 crore will be sold on our platform,” he added.
In April, PropTiger had acquired rival Makaan.com as it aimed to ramp up presence in secondary property market.
“We are having unique offering on our platform as no other online player is doing transaction in the secondary market,” Agarwala said.
Asked about more acquisitions, Agarwala said: “If there are interesting opportunities, we will certainly look at it,” adding integration of the digital design startup ‘Out of Box Interaction (OoBI) and Makaan.com has gone well.
On plans to raise more funds, he said the company is well funded with no immediate plans to raise further capital.
Talking about housing market, Agarwala said it was facing demand slowdown but expected revival with the passage of the real estate regulatory bill by Parliament. “There is a positive sentiment with the passage of the new law, which will help in the revival of the market slowly,” he said.
In November 2014, Rupert Murdoch-led News Corp had acquired 25 per cent stake in PropTiger for USD 30 million (Rs 185 crore) as part of its strategy to expand presence in digital media. It raised stakes to 30 per cent in June 2015.
PropTiger guides customers through the entire process of buying a home, including search, property identification, price negotiation, documentation, home loan facilitation and post sales services.
Source: The Economic Times
Image Courtesy : The Economic Times
