The real estate industry in India has experienced a transformation in the way it works over the past decade or so and is expected to gain pace shortly as well. This growth is powered by the emergence of the prop-tech industry, the need for customised amenities and government initiatives like RERA.

All these and more have helped boost the confidence of customers in real estate developers and brought about a sense of transparency across the sector.

It is important to understand the growth of the real estate industry in general before learning about further developments of the industry’s growth online.

Growth of Real Estate Industry

According to a report by KPMG India and NAREDCO, the real estate sector in India will grow at a CAGR of 11% till 2022. The report states that the sector is speculated to reach USD 180 billion by 2022. (1)

According to another report by Grand View Research, the global real estate market size was valued at USD 3.69 trillion in 2021. This growth is also expected to compound at an annual growth rate of 5.2% 2022 to 2030. (2)

Factors governing the growth

• Demographics
• Interest rates
• The economy
• Government policies and subsidies
• Technology integration

Demographics

Over the past few years, there has also been an increase in the number of millennial home buyers in India. This is mainly due to the growing disposable income and the need to invest in assets that can generate wealth.

Factors such as the emergence of affordable housing schemes, the growth of the proptech industry, and the availability of home loan options have also contributed to the rise in the number of millennial homeowners in India.

Interest rates

The current interest rate for home loans in India is 8.05%-8.70% (2023) (3). This is a variable rate, meaning it can increase or decrease depending on market conditions. Currently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the repo rate unchanged at 4%.

Therefore, the home loan interest rate is not expected to increase shortly. This has given way to a lot of new investors.

The Economy

The Indian government has also implemented various tax benefits to encourage home buying. These include tax deductions on home loan interest payments, capital gains tax exemption on the sale of a home, and stamp duty and registration fee waiver for first-time homebuyers.

Government policies and subsidies

The government of India has taken several initiatives to promote home buying in the country. Some of the most prominent initiatives include the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), the interest subsidy scheme under the CLSS and the reduction of GST on affordable housing.

Technology integration

Virtual reality is transforming the real estate industry by allowing potential home buyers to virtually tour properties before making a decision. Drones are becoming increasingly popular in the real estate industry as they allow agents to provide aerial views of properties.

Mobile apps are helping real estate agents keep track of their sales, manage their leads and stay organized. Artificial intelligence is being used to analyse data, predict market trends, and personalize the real estate experience for customers.

Websites and apps like Housing.com, 99 acres, Commonfloor, No broker and more are also enabling homeowners buy and sell homes across the world.

Traditional methods used by the real estate industry

Real estate developers in the past were developing relationships with agents, lenders, attorneys, and other real estate professionals who cold called potential buyers and sellers to generate leads. They also advertised in newspapers and magazines, and sent informational mailers to potential channel partners and homeowners.

The home selling process in the past was very disconnected and disorganised. Real estate developers were only looking at home buyers as targets to achieve on their sales funnels. Home buyers on the other hand ran from pillar to post right through the entire homeowning process without getting help from their developers.

There was also no defined process of registration, no alerts for payment schedules, and no assistance during the moving-in process; in short, no scope for any kind of delight for homeowners.

Channels partners, on the other hand, went through many hurdles while tracking leads, inconsistencies in the documentation and several other issues daily.

How Real Estate Industry has grown online

Interactions between real estate developers and their homeowners have become very seamless on social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram. This has also helped developers connect with their channel partners allowing them to share listings including photos, videos, maps, and other relevant information about ongoing and upcoming projects.

Many Proptech companies like Reloy on the other hand, have also developed digital platforms for developers to manage their channel partner network through apps. Some of the features include end-to-end lead tracking, generation and tracking of invoice tracking, easy registartion, custom collaterals creation and more.

Reloy also offers customer loyalty programs for builders to create delight and help their homebuyers to unlock a lifestyle that makes their house feel like a home. The program unlocks happier communities via events, moving-in benefits, local area benefits, deals and discounts and more. Thereby opening up a sustainble refferal sales channel for years to come.