They say it’s a man’s world. But here’s a woman proving otherwise. She is challenging the status quo and empowering the likes of her to look in a direction that has almost been alien to them. The real estate sector in India has been predominately male dominated for decades now. Samridhi Bhardwaj, the founder of India’s first gender inclusive real estate aggregator Aedific, finds there no reason for the realty game to be so dirty for women to put their hands into it.
Samridhi observed a huge gap in the way billions in India perceive real estate. Specifically, there is a lot of skepticism among women in both; being employed in this sector and in investing in real estate. With over 20 million women with a graduate degree in India, there has been a surge in the number of those who are earning moderate to high salaries and are resolute and unswerving in taking control of their lives and making fierce, independent decisions. But, a majority of them still cringe at the thought of making a real estate decision.
They are uncomfortable, under confident or simply unaware of what makes the real estate sector. The lack of interest and skepticism stems from the highly unorganized nature of the sector, lack of reliable information, trust deficit and fear for their own safety and well being. On the other hand, a woman realtor is practically unheard of in India and many other parts of the world.
Through Aedific, Samridhi aims to engage and motivate women to assume greater roles in real estate transactions as buyers and as facilitators. ‘The vision of Aedific is to make its current mission redundant in the next five to seven years. The vision is to create a market where there are only employees, buyers and sellers, not defined by their gender”, she says.
Aedific’s business model varies with the type of transaction. If it is a re-sale, Aedific charges a professional fee from both the parties, which is less than the ongoing market price to encourage more women participation. In case of a new sale, the fee is charged only from the builder and not the buyer. There are special incentives for those who open their homes for lease to single , working women.
The organization gives its clients an option to deal only with a woman realtor and also intends to provide concierge services to women who re-locate for work or other reasons. Also, every transaction is concluded with a special gift from Aedific and its marketing partners. “We want to make every woman’s real estate journey to be informed, fun and memorable. We ensure that by providing them with crisp and prompt services and by pampering them a bit”, Samridhi adds.
With the Indian government taking positive steps towards the regularization of this sector, there is an urgent need to disseminate correct information to help women strengthen their investment portfolio. Aedific is actively seeking other women leaders in the market to further this goal.
