HDFC RED looks at collaboration with Bengaluru-based firms

HDFC RED, a digital marketplace for home buyers and developers — owned by housing finance company HDFC, is exploring collaboration with technology solution providers in Bengaluru.

“Bengaluru is an innovation hub that houses a variety of ancillary agencies around the digital ecosystem, focusing on specific technology areas. HDFC RED is looking at collaborating with them to offer real estate-centric solutions,” HDFC RED Chief Executive Officer Sohel I S told DH.

“HDFC RED is building a lot of complex algorithms on the congruence engine in addition to virtual reality and 360-degree video among other technologies. Presence in Bengaluru is important to augment businesses in the technology space. Right now, our central team sits out of Mumbai,” said Sohel.

He pointed out that Bengaluru is a central talent pool in India, as the city houses R&D centre for many Fortune 500 companies. “We have a total team of 120. The workforce primarily comprises people belonging to technology, advertising and marketing, and real estate domains. HDFC RED has a 40-member product and technology team,” he said.

Sohel said the company is currently working on augmented reality and virtual reality platforms that can work seamlessly on web and app. “We are looking at possible used cases of chatbots to help close home ownership and discovery. Being a technology company, we are also open to working with startups to discover new ways to win consumers,” he said.

The recently launched HDFC RED app has over 3,800 downloads and the average rating for the same is 4.8/5. The HDFC RED website sees over one lakh unique visitors per month, and over 10 lakh buyer enquiries have been generated till date. It is present in 23 cities, and has over 3,300 developers on board. There are more than 7,700 projects that are new residential properties.

“We provide chat facility in case the user requires assistance and wants to talk to someone. If the user likes some projects, they can provide their contact details and the team will call them back to understand their requirement again and share more options, and email some more properties if needed,” he said.

When asked about the loan facility, Sohel said that HDFC RED can connect them to the home loans team of HDFC.

“We are providing a seamless process from searching, to finalising and home loans on one platform that provides all,” he said.

The business around realty platforms connecting consumers to rent or buy homes in India is going through a consolidation. Quikr recently acquired RealtyCompass and Commonfloor. According to a recent research report, the Indian realty market is to the tune of around $180 billion, and the housing market around half of its size.