The entry of HDFC Ltd has stirred the online property search business segment. The country’s top mortgage lender has launched its own real estate search portal www.hdfcred.com. The venture will be operated under its wholly-owned subsidiary HDFC Developers Ltd.
“Our portal is a logical extension of our real estate business. Some of the grouses we came across during our research is that the typical home buyer was not able to get all the details to facilitate their property search process. While there is a lot of information lying around across various mediums it is largely scattered. What we have attempted to do with our portal is bring all of it under one platform in a detailed structured manner,” Renu Sud Karnad, managing director, HDFC Ltd, said.
The features offered by the portal include searching for properties in key Indian cities at the click of a button, use of filters to narrow down search, add properties to favourites, compare them, and even find out useful information regarding social infrastructure and facilities available in the neighbourhood.
India’s online property search market is currently estimated to be around Rs 60 crore. It includes general real estate websites like www.99acres.com, www.magicbricks.com, and classifieds portals like www.sulekha.com. The overall market has been growing at 50 per cent.