Online real estate portal Housing.com has acquired Plat, a startup which operates an online network for agents where they can share real estate inventories and requirement. It has also acquired BigBHK, a property management software targeted at rentals suppliers. Following the deal, teams of both the startups will join Housing. Housing interim CEO and chief operating officer Rishabh Gupta said that this was in line with the company’s strategy of strengthening its core technology offerings and will add to its talent pool.
BigBHK allows its partners to manage their property portfolios with a comprehensive web based management solution. BigBHK’s software lets partners streamline their realty lifecycle encompassing rental accounting, e-invoicing, record management, complaint tracking, reports, inventory management among other things. From a consumer’s standpoint, BigBHK provides tenants access to a free platform to raise complaints, track rent dues and maintenance amount on a monthly basis. The company runs operations across Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune and is soon foraying into Chennai, according to Housing’s press statement. Plat will help in communications and operations such as posting leads and property showcase for real estate agents.
Layoffs at Housing
It’s interesting to note that in August, Housing let go of 160 employees with plans to focus on its core products. Apparently, the company’s commercial properties, short stays and land businesses have been shut down and it has streamlined focus on large cities and towns while ceasing operations in smaller cities. An ET report states that Housing spent over Rs 100 crore on marketing and advertising over the last one year and is planning to lay off around 600 employees over the next few months.
Other acquisitions
– In August, Housing acquired sales lifecycle management HomeBuy360 for $2 million. HomeBuy allows builders, brokers and buyers to manage pre-sales, post-sales and value added services like chat, task management, reporting and dashboard among others.
– In May, Housing acquired the Delhi-based real estate analytics portal Realty Business Intelligence for an estimated $2-4 million. According to Housing, the acquisition would help it provide users, including real estate investors, with more data to make informed purchases. Realty BI provided information regarding the real estate sector, including real estate trends and risk management tools.
– In March, the real estate portal acquired realty-focused online community Indian Real Estate Forum (IREF) for Rs 8 crore. The forum had about 1.5 lakh members, though it’s not clear how many of them were active users. IREF functions as an independent entity, with Housing co-founder Ravish Naresh heading it.