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Business News/ News / India/  Realty portal Housing.com to hire about 200 people this fiscal
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Realty portal Housing.com to hire about 200 people this fiscal

REA India will invest in technology, brand promotion, and talent acquisition to grow Housing.com

Housing.com, which was founded in 2012, is a full-stack proptech platform for homeowners/home seekers, landlords, developersPremium
Housing.com, which was founded in 2012, is a full-stack proptech platform for homeowners/home seekers, landlords, developers

Real estate search portal Housing.com will hire about 200 people this fiscal to strengthen its team. In an interview with PTI news agency, CEO Dhruv Agarwala said the company is planning to invest in technology, as well as brand promotion, to become the market leader. Housing.com is a part of REA India, formerly known as Elara Group, which is a full-stack technology platform. REA India is a part of Australia's REA Group and US-based News Corp which owns three real estate portals -- Housing.com, PropTiger, and Makaan.com.

Agarwala highlighted that the turnover of REA India rose 92% during the 2021-22 fiscal (July-June) to nearly 300 crore. While Housing.com contributed around 80% to the total revenue, and housing brokerage platform PropTiger.com 20%. Makaan.com's revenue was negligible.

Acknowledging Housing.com's performance, REA India will continue to invest in technology, brand promotion, and talent acquisition to grow the company's business, the CEO said. It has already announced a 40 crore investment in FY2023 for Housing.com and could raise it further looking at competitors, he added.

In terms of workforce, Agarwala said Housing.com has around 1,500 staffers.

"We have plans to get to around 1,700 people by the end of FY'23. We have clear ambitions of making Housing.com the clear market leader. We have already achieved audience leadership. We crossed our closest competitor in terms of revenue for the quarter ended June," he said.

The realty search portal will primarily be hiring for the product, tech, and design teams.

On the financial performance in the previous fiscal year, Agarwala said: "Last (fiscal) year, we grew our total revenue by 92% and for the first time, on Housing.com, we achieved market leadership in October 2021 and that leadership position has continued."

Agarwala attributed the rise in revenue of both Housing.com and PropTiger.com to a strong revival in housing demand after the second wave of the pandemic

Fort he first time, Housing.com's revenue in the June quarter was higher than its closest competitor 99acres.com, Agarwala stated.

On the outlook for the current financial year, Agarwala said REA India expects high double-digit growth but it would be difficult to match last year's performance of a 92% increase in revenue. According to him, losses will start reducing from the 2023-24 fiscal year.

"We never laid off anybody, we, in fact, hired more people. We continued to invest in our product and technology, and also launched a new platform such as Housing Edge, which is doing very well for us. We continue to spend money on our brand and were the leading spender in terms of the brand building during all of COVID," he observed.

He said that increased digital adoption in the real estate sector also helped Housing.com. Besides, low-interest rates on home loans and stamp duty cuts in a few states were also major demand drivers for residential properties.

"Third thing is, I think, the residential real estate funnily received a big boost because of Covid. I think people's relationship and equation with a home changed. Everybody realized that during a time like COVID, the home was their only safe haven. That, I think, gives a renewed lease of life to residential real estate," Agarwala said.

In December 2020, Australia's REA Group acquired a controlling stake in Elara Technologies which owned these three portals. Elara Technologies has been renamed REA India, which currently has 17 offices across India.

Housing.com, which was founded in 2012, is a full-stack proptech platform for homeowners/home seekers, landlords, developers, and real estate brokers. It offers listings for new homes, resale homes, rentals, plots, commercial spaces, and co-living spaces in India.

Founded in 2011, PropTiger.com is a housing brokerage firm. Makaan.com is an advertising platform.

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Published: 25 Sep 2022, 01:49 PM IST
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