siliconindia | | August 20178IN MY OPINIONTHE METAMORPHOSIS OF THE PROPERTY PORTAL INDUSTRY IN INDIABy Sudhir Pai, CEO, MagicbricksMagicbricks.com has seized the No. 1 position in the hotly-contested Indian Online Property market. The company has grown from a small 70-member team, with a few lakhs turnover per month, into a 1000+ strong team, doing double-digit Crore topline every month.T he Real Estate consumer is probably the most valuable consumer walking the face of the earth. And it's not just the purchase of property which makes this transaction valuable; it is also the host of other expenses that a property purchase triggers that make this sector one of the biggest industries around. The real estate market across the country is expected to reach 180 billion dollars by 2020, up from 94 billion dollars in 2014. It is the fourth largest sector in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. Size apart, property transaction is a very high-involvement purchase, probably amongst the Top 3 decisions that most consumers make in the course of a lifetime. This means that this purchase not only has a large value but also has the full attention of the consumer. While the real estate market has been a bit subdued in the past few years, underlying growth drivers remain strong. Rapid urbanisation, emergence of nuclear families and rising household incomes remain key drivers for growth in all spheres including residential, commercial and retail. The government's Smart City Mission has also given a fillip to the industry. There is an uptick in buyer sentiment with clearing of the Real Estate Regulation Act. Therefore, the current sentiment not with standing the long term prospects for the industry continue to be bullish. It is in this valuable and exciting industry, that Property Portals are trying to usher in a quiet revolution in the purchase process. Driven by the high level of internet/mobile penetration in the country today, a large proportion of consumers today prefer to use a property portal to Sudhir Pai
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