REA India not actively eyeing buys, says CEO Agarwala
Proptech firm REA India, which owns Housing.com and PropTiger, is not actively looking for acquisition for further growth but the company is open to evaluate “interesting” opportunities that complement the business or help in securing new technologies, its CEO Dhruv Agarwala said.
REA India, which is part of Australia-based REA Group, will focus on consolidating its both businesses—real estate classified platform Housing.com and residential brokerage portal PropTiger.com, he added.
In an interview with PTI, Agarwala, who is also CEO of Housing.com and PropTiger, said there is no plan of acquisition in near future.
However, he said, “We always remain open if there is an interesting opportunity, which might help us bring in better talent or help us fulfil a product gap like we did for mortgage, or if we see an interesting technology. In that sense we are open, but not sort of actively seeking acquisitions..
He emphasized that the focus would be on growth of existing businesses, make them stronger.
Agarwala said the monthly web traffic on Housing.com is more than 20 million and the company would focus on increasing this number to have a significant lead over competitors.
That apart, he said the company would also focus on driving the traffic to Housing.com app, where consumer engagement is better leading to quality lead generation for its clients—real estate developers and property brokers.
The traffic on Housing.com app grew 43% in the first six months of 2023-24 fiscal ending June, Agarwala highlighted.
REA India’s revenue grew 21% to 44 million Australian dollars (nearly ₹240 crore) during the July-December period.
In the year-ago period, the revenue stood at AUD (Australian dollar) 36 million.
Agarwala highlighted that revenue from its core businesses —advertising and housing brokerage—grew 32% to AUD 32 million.