Global ‘Free to List’ Property Portal Targets Crucial NRI Market

Two up-and-coming global property portals Commercial People & Residential People, are hoping to attract the attention of Non-Resident Indians (NRI’s) looking to invest in their homeland thanks to their feature-rich and comprehensive free listings website. Not restricted by Virtual Private Networks (VPN’s), both Commercial & Residential People are accessible from anywhere in the world, fully opening up the Indian real estate market to the global economy. The Indian Real estate industry is expected to contribute 13% of the country’s GDP by 2025 and reach a staggering market size of US$ 1 trillion by 2030. Interest across all sectors including residential, retail, hospitality and other commercial real estate properties have skyrocketed with commercial office stock in India exceeding 600 million sqft. NRI’s play a crucial and indispensable role in the booming Indian property market, and are the reason why the Indian government has adopted the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA), Goods and Services Tax (GST), and Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act to help make the local property market more accommodating to NRI’s. However, despite Government initiatives, there remains a degree of exclusion when it comes to major portals offering properties to foreign investors. At Commercial & Residential People we don’t believe in barriers, be they digital or physical. So whether a property is in Delhi, Mumbai or the remote Kerala village of Manjeri is uploaded to our portal(s), it’s available to view in London, Dubai, and anywhere else around the world. Also read http://realtyplusmag.com/uaes-nri-realty-investment-to-soar-in-india/ Our globally connected approach to property means that estate agents in rural locations now have more eyes on their properties than ever before, and can finally compete on a more even playing field with their counterparts in major cities. As a result of the added viewership, NRI’s are more likely to find properties that they are interested in. Commercial & Residential People Co-Director Christopher May says: “Our model was always to build a portal that not only benefited locals but also NRI buyers. Our aim is to be in 50 countries by 2021 and we are targeting 2 million listings by year end 2019.” Since launching Commercial & Residential People, a growing number of searches on our Indian site come from prospective NRI buyers looking to invest in India. Research by Residential People India has shown that NRI’s make up a substantial percentage of real estate transactions in India. May continues: “One of our key selling points is that we are international. It is a fact that thousands of properties in certain areas - especially commercial and new build apartments - are being bought by locals and NRI buyers.” With the global reach of Residential People, any local Indian estate agent can tap into the growing external investment across the country, gaining more exposure on their listings for free not only from potential NRI’s  across the UAE, UK, Southeast Asia and soon globally. May concludes: “We want to make it abundantly clear that we aim to work with agents and build an alternative to some of the portals that exist today. While we understand that international attention doesn’t appeal to every Indian agent, our nationwide coverage can ensure increased exposure for the local market as well. With agents’ support, we are hoping to disrupt the status quo and give agents an alternative to the current portals on the market.”