iProperty.com India Unveils Exclusive Section For NRIs

Real estate classifieds site iProperty.com has announced a new section called NRI spaces that aims to offer audiences outside India options for property investment. Initially, the website will have projects available in over 14 metro cities and 1372 sub-locations from India. NRI Spaces will display price in various currencies making it easier for overseas consumers to check prices.

"According to various institutional reports there has been a drop in property sales as compared to last year. Foreign currency appreciation against Indian Rupee has attracted Non Resident Indians to invest in India. There are estimated over 30 million Indians staying in various parts of the globe, out of which over 35 per cent are there in US, UK, Middle east which is our target audience now," said Murli Ramkrishnan CMD - iProperty.com India.

iProperty.com is run by IPGA Ltd, a firm listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and runs other websites like GoHome.com.hk and House18.com in Hong Kong; VrHouse.com.tw in Taiwan and iLuxuryasia.com (in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia). It also features an events division.

IPGA Ltd entered India in 2008 by acquiring Mumbai-based Horizon InfoVentures Pvt Ltd, which ran RealAcres.com. Realacres.com was re-launched as iProperty.com India and now has 211,562 property listings, according to the website.

Last year, Paris-based classifieds site SeLoger.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of Axel Springer AG, has acquired 9.4 per cent stake in IPGA Ltd to expand its hold in the Asian market. A direct competition to this site would be NRIhomes.com which has a similar business model. Other online real estate websites include Sulekha.com, 99acres.com, indiaproperty.com and magicbricks among others.