Australian realty firm REA group's India operation, comprising three portals Housing.com, Makaan.com, and PropTiger, has reported a 25 per cent growth in revenue last fiscal ended June despite the COVID pandemic and is bullish on future growth on rapid digital adoption in the residential real estate market.
REA Group, which has a market cap of 20 billion Australian dollars, also announced rebranding of Elara Technologies, which owns Housing.com, PropTiger.com, and Makaan.com, as REA India.
The REA India will continue to operate as a separate organisation under the ongoing leadership of Dhruv Agarwala, co-founder, and Chief Executive Officer.
REA Group first invested in REA India (formerly Elara Technologies Pte Ltd) in 2017, becoming the majority 61 per cent shareholder in 2020, while the remaining stake is being held by US-based News Corp.
News Corp is also the majority shareholder in the Australian REA Group.
"A key pillar of REA's long-term growth strategy is expanding into large growth markets. Our strong presence in India provides REA Group with exposure to one of the world's most attractive economies and complements our existing footprint in Australia, Asia, and North America," REA Group Chief Executive Officer Owen Wilson said.
He said the residential real estate market in India presents enormous growth opportunities on the back of rapid digital adoption.
"Leveraging the combined talent and expertise of REA Group and REA India, we have an exciting roadmap, fuelled by the delivery of highly personalised consumer experiences, to become the clear number one digital real estate business in India," he added.
Commenting on the development, Agarwala said the company will solidify its position as the digital real estate platform of choice in India.
"The new branding will provide us with a strong brand legacy backed by cutting edge technology. We will continue to serve our consumers and customers with the same passion and expand our presence in the promising real estate market in India," he said.
Agarwala said, the pandemic has elevated the market need for technology and revolutionised the manner in which consumers are finding and purchasing real estate.
"This quick and transformative shift has led to accelerated digital adoption and the need for digitally enabled full stack services that are core to our business strategy. Our objective is to optimise our offerings around this shift and build a more engaging and transparent platform for our user base, with support from REA Group's team," he said.
Agarwala informed that REA India's revenue grew by over 25 per cent in the last financial year ended June.
PropTiger.com was launched in 2011 and Makaan.com was acquired in May 2015.
Housing.com, a start-up founded in 2012 by a dozen IT graduates, became part of the group in January 2017.
PropTiger is one of the leading online real estate brokerage firms in the country. Housing.com is one of the leading digital real estate platforms catering to developers, brokers, homeowners, buyers, and renters.
