IndiaProperty.com launches subscription-based assisted property search; eyeing $10M fundraising for expansion

Indiaproperty.com, an online platform listing residential properties for buying & selling and run by Chennai-based India Property Online Pvt Ltd, has come up with a subscription-based service called Assisted Property Search for end users. Currently launched in Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad, the service has brought in around 2,000 paying customers to the site, according to Ganesh Vasudevan, CEO of IndiaProperty.com.

IndiaProperty was formerly a part of Matrimony.com (earlier known as Consim Info), which runs a string of matrimony-related sites including BharatMatrimony.com, EliteMatrimony.com and Matrimony Directory, among others. However, it (IndiaProperty) was demerged a little more than a year ago and later raised fresh capital of around of $7 million from Canaan Partners and Mayfield Fund.

"We have been working independently for nearly a year and a half now and the business has been good," said Vasudevan. The company is close to raising $10 million in subsequent funding to expand the brand outreach, he told Techcircle.in. The CEO also added that a significant part of this fresh capital would be utilised for brand building. "In addition, we will be working on the core technology as well," he said.

But what is so unique about the just launched B2C service? In addition to all regular features, the new service called Assisted Property Search assigns a property search manager (PSM) to each subscriber. These PSMs customise the search criteria according to users' requirements and enlist all matching properties. They also look into all relevant details such as location, vicinity, security, etc.; make videos of the properties; and even check out vastu/feng shui features. The new service also provides assistance in case of legal issues. According to Vasudevan, the company is getting very good response from the NRIs, especially as it has dedicated features for them – so that they can share their customisation requirements and discuss issues, if any.

"We don't just provide a lot of options, but also help consumers find what they are looking for. You do a large part of the search is online but it is facilitated by offline groundwork," added Vasudevan. According to him, the company provides a lot of information that is not available otherwise. The differentiation lies in providing that extra bit of information and helping users get on to the next stage after sifting through hundreds of properties, he said. "Plus, there are a lot of questions buyers want to ask and they can only get the answers when they make onsite visits or talk to the builders. And we provide that also," detailed Vasudevan.

Since the demerger from Matrimony.com, IndiaProperty has seen a lot of traction and the traffic has been encouraging, he claimed. Asked whether the company takes key decisions on its own, away from Matrimony.com, Vasudevan affirmed that IndiaProperty operates independently. "These are different businesses and we run ours completely independently. Muruga (Murugalvel Janakiraman) remains the chairman but all daily processes, decisions, teams, etc., are separate and independent," he said.

As for near-term expansion plans, IndiaProperty is looking at launching some differentiated product offerings. The newly launched Assisted Property Search will be taken to other regions of the country in the next 2-3 months while a new, enhanced version of the mobile site with augmented reality-based views of properties has also been launched.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)