NoBroker plans expansion

 Cashing in on the burgeoning real estate industry in India, NoBroker.com — a Bengaluru-based real estate search portal that connects flat owners and tenants directly with each other — aims to expand its reach across India.

“We are present in four cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai. We are planning to expand to eight more cities this year, including the NCR region, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Hyderabad,” NoBroker CEO Amit Agarwal told DH.

The company embarked on its operations in March 2014. Till date, the startup has raised Rs 132 crore in Series A and Series B round.

“Our investors include SAIF Partners and Japanese investor Beenext. KTB Network, which is a Korean investor, recently invested in us. This is the first time that a Korean investor has invested in an Indian startup,” Agarwal said.

NoBroker eliminates entry of brokers with the help of a proprietary algorithm. “As an owner, you can come and post your property for rent or sale, for free. As a tenant or buyer, you can come and access broker-free properties. Customers can interact with each other directly and save entire brokerage amount,” Agarwal explained.

“From monetisation point of view, NoBroker is a premium subscription-based model. For availing additional services, like more owner-contacts, phone relationship manager, customers can pay a flat service charge of Rs 999 or Rs 1,999. This results in a savings of 90% to 100% of cost-saving in real estate transactions, compared to a broker,” he added.

“We have 16 lakh customers in total, and each month, we are adding one lakh customers. These are registered customers and not website visitors. We have six lakh Android mobile app downloads. We close 6,000 property transactions a month, helping both the owner and seeker. This savings amount to Rs 20 crore of brokerage per month. We have been in business for the past three years, and have saved over Rs 300 crore of brokerage,” he claimed.