How PropReturns is set to make real estate investment simple, transparent and accessible

PropReturns is a real estate investment marketplace through which users can transparently invest in Indian Real Estate using data and analysis. We eliminate the time and effort by sourcing the properties, verifying the information through our proprietary database- so investors can make a sound investment decision backed by data.

PropReturns was founded, with a mission to make real estate investing simple, accessible and transparent by leveraging the best of technology. PropReturns enables buyers to make sound investment decisions backed by data and comprehensive financial analysis. At the same time, we put immense focus on relationships with our clients, by providing them all the supplementary services to create an end-to-end and hassle free property investment experience.

CTO and Co-founder at PropReturns, Somil Mathur is a serial entrepreneur with two successful exits in the past. He has previously served as a CTO of an AI/Blockchain consultancy company in UAE having made products for companies like Emirates Airlines and Etisalat. He is a computer science graduate from BITS Pilani.

One of his previous companies, Autochain was awarded the top 10 most innovative companies award by the Ministry of Economy, UAE. Somil shares his insights on how he uses technology at PropReturns to bring change in real estate investment decisions.

How does PropReturns work? Can you share a brief about the Business model and what the platform solves?

PropReturns is a marketplace to invest in Indian Real Estate. With PropReturns, investors can finally make sound investment decisions by viewing the verified data, financial analysis and market trends of hundreds of properties on our marketplace.

The platform is built for largely one purpose – to make investments in Indian Real Estate transparent and accessible to all. With a mix of the right data and a team of expert Real Estate Veterans, we provide our user base of over 8000 investors the ability to find the right investment opportunity for them and help them throughout the transaction process!

Please elaborate on technology that is revolutionising the Proptech industry

The PropTech segment in India has initiated an industry-changing revolution in real estate technology. PropTech has been transforming a user’s experience constantly. As consumers’ needs have evolved significantly, they now need more information to make effective decisions. With the changing needs of the consumers, PropTech has become way more crucial, and advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Cloud computing, etc. are taking centre stage.

Please explain how PropReturns is utilising AI and Big Data to make property investment in India simpler and more accessible?

AI and Big Data are pivotal to our cause. Traditionally, the Real Estate Industry was very fragmented and sourcing the right information about a property required one to deal with multiple brokers – and since brokers in India are quite localised, it could take up to 2-3 months to find the right property for you!

We make this process simple and bring the exploration time down to mere 5 minutes. We are able to do this through the advancements in AI and Big Data.

In order to provide our investors with accurate information, we source data from multiple sources, verify the authenticity of it, collate and clean the data and provide meaningful insights through our proprietary models. By automating this process, we are able to provide our investors a curated list of investment options that is most suitable to their investment criteria (in seconds).

We understand how important trust becomes in the Real Estate Industry and so we ensure all information we provide to our investors is verified and authentic.

With a projected full-fledged 5G penetration in India by March 2023, how do you think it can revolutionise proptech?

5G is going to revolutionise PropTech on multiple fronts and benefit multiple stakeholders in RE – brokers, developers, RE funds, construction and ultimately retail users.

With its blazing speed, higher capacity and reduced lag time, the approaching fifth generation of cellular communication technology will allow seamless communication between different stakeholders.

In construction, the use of IoT (Internet of Things) is going to start a sprint. Using controllers and devices with lag-less communication capabilities will help constructors monitor, assess and optimise their processes. Use of drones for monitoring will also see a rise as high performance computing will become more cost effective.

As technology advances, 5G proptech will even allow for virtual and augmented reality feeds that give prospective buyers a comprehensive, real-time vision of a property — even if that prospect is across the country.

The potential for 5G to create automated connections at breakneck speeds also opens up a host of possibilities for embedded technology, transforming properties into truly “smart” buildings. Where building owners previously invested significant capital in routing high-speed cables to deliver internet connectivity, 5G cellular connections will help deliver larger amounts of data in a fraction of the time without the need for a physical conduit.

Lastly, 5G is going to further accelerate the distribution of information. With its high speed capabilities, everyone will have access to the right information at blazing fast speed. Communication will become much faster and data processing will become easier. Data is at the core of most industries and the ability to communicate faster will further open up various opportunities for innovation.

What does PropReturns do differently when compared to other market players in the Proptech space?

PropReturns is a one of its kind marketplace. We want to allow our users to be able to make Real Estate investments as easily as they invest in stocks or mutual funds.

Furthermore, we are a curated platform for all sorts of investments in RE. While most people think about buying a home to diversify into RE – we also want to educate them about the other, more lucrative avenues for diversification. RE provides investment opportunities in rent-generating commercial assets, developer buyback investments, fractional property investing, debt products, REITs and many more. This is why we focus on providing a host of different investment products.

Additionally, we have a key focus on leveraging the right technology to benefit our customers.

We also understand how important human touch can be when making high ticket size investments. This is why our dedicated team of Real Estate experts assist our investors from day 1 to the end of deal closure. In addition, our on-grounds team also visits and surveys the properties beforehand to ensure we provide the best service.