Founded with a vision to address the existing concerns in the real estate sector,
PropUrban is an online-to-offline (O2O) platform dealing in commercial and residential properties. BWDisrupt delves deep to know more about PropUrban's business model and spoke to Mir Jaffer Ali.
With real-time data as its core strength, the company has a strong research and advisory wing to help clients make informed property decisions. Based out of Bangalore, it helps to showcase, search and transact real estate business by individuals and institutional sellers to global investors and end-users.
Incepted in May 2016, PropUrban is the brainchild of Mir Jaffer Ali, a former banker with international experience. It is part of the parent company Bluering Realtech Pvt. Ltd.
By leveraging emerging technology and analytics, the company envisions to create a world-class platform of highest standards and become a one-stop solution for anything that is ‘real estate’. It endeavors to become the most preferred online realty network by simply following the ‘real’ ethics of business and, thereby, building a lasting experience for its customers through innovation, technology and professionalism.
Typically, about 35-40 per cent of the investment portfolio of HNI/UHNI comprises of real estate. Realizing the immense potential that the asset management & wealth advisory market holds, PropUrban is also trying to assist its HNI/UHNI clients by providing transaction advisory along with property management solutions.
Further, its partnership with experienced and trusted associates enables it to maximise its reach even beyond boundaries. The company has also set foot in international markets like Dubai and London, where it assists in overseas purchase / sale as well as showcases local projects.
A bootstrapped venture, PropUrban is aggressively looking to expand its footprint in over 40 cities globally. In FY 2017-18, the company aims to open 18 offices across 12 countries and about 22 offices within India. Over the next two quarters, it will extend its reach to four international markets including Singapore, Hong Kong, New York and Vancouver; and five local markets namely Pune, Kochi, MMR, Ahmedabad and Delhi-NCR. In lieu of its expansion drive, the company is open to investments by VCs.
The company’s business strategy is to target the NRIs and other investors looking at cross-border investments through its Dubai and London offices; like hand-holding an investor in London looking to invest in Middle East markets and vice versa. As a global advisory firm, it is also targeting to assist clients and sell UK inventory to Indian clients which will yield higher ROI. Additionally, with several Indians working in GCC and other countries it presents a huge opportunity to tap such clients who are looking to invest within India.
Besides sailing through the usual hiccups faced by all start-ups, PropUrban , in a short span of time, has efficiently embarked on a new growth journey. With demonetization becoming a thing of the past, the company is projecting to close sales of 2500 units across cities by the end of this fiscal, resulting in revenue of Rs 45 crore with a gross transaction value of Rs 2,000 crore plus.
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Soumya is a young writer and journalist, with bachelors in Multimedia and Mass Communication. She is an alumini of the Asian College of Journalism, and finds politics and sustainability intriguing beats to work with.
