Housing.com, the leading digital real estate platform in India, is set to expand its business in Nagpur, the Tiger Capital of India. The move comes as the company sees immense potential in the Tier-II markets of India, where online property searches for apartments are growing at a faster pace than for independent homes.
According to Housing.com’s IRIS index, which is a leading indicator of upcoming property demand, Nagpur is second only to Indore amongst the Tier-2 cities with maximum online property search volume in central India. This ranking reflects the city’s growing popularity among homebuyers, as evidenced by the high-intent homebuyer activity that peaked in March 2023, reaching 218 points.
In recent years, localities such as Besa, Somalwada, Manewada, Dighori, Hingna and Jamtha near Mihan in the south, along with micro-markets such as Zingabai Takli, Mankapur, Saroj Nagar, and KT Nagar in the north, have witnessed heightened homebuyer search activity.
The majority of homebuyers in Nagpur are looking for apartments followed by independent homes, and 2 BHK configurations are the most popular, with 35% of consumers in Nagpur looking for this type of property, closely followed by 3 BHK configuration with 23% share in overall queries. Less than INR 50 lakh and INR 50 lakh – 1 crore is the sweet-spot for property purchase in Nagpur.
Housing.com’s meet-and-greet event for real estate developers and property advisors was organised in Nagpur on May 12, 2023, brought together the most influential real estate stakeholders from the region, offering them a platform to connect, share information and ideas about the latest industry trends, technologies and best practices. The event was part of Housing.com’s overall business growth strategy, which involves expanding its presence in India’s Tier-II markets.
Mr. Amit Masaldan, National Business Head of Housing.com, said, “Nagpur is a city brimming with potential for continued growth in the real estate sector. At Housing.com, as India’s leading digital real estate platform with the largest database of property listings for buying, selling, and renting, we aim to be the go-to search and discovery platform for the people of Nagpur. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital tools and online demand, and since we began physical operations in 2021, we’ve already seen remarkable growth of over 100% year – on – year. We’re committed to ramping up our sales and marketing efforts in this market and are confident that this trend will continue.”
“We’re excited about our growth strategy, which focuses on expanding our presence in Tier-II markets across India, and we anticipate a compound annual growth rate of over 50% in key Tier-II markets over the next three years. We see immense potential in these regions and believe that they will emerge as prime residential markets in the coming months, thanks to government initiatives to boost infrastructure and connectivity, as well as the Smart Cities Mission,” added Masaldan.
Commenting on the property market of Nagpur, Ms. Ankita Sood, Head of Research, Housing.com, said, “Nagpur’s strategic location has propelled its growth both as a commercial and residential hub attracting workforce from neighbouring regions of not only Maharashtra, but also from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Bearing testament to this growth, Nagpur is only second to Indore amongst the emerging Tier-2 cities in central India on Housing.com’ IRIS index-a barometer for gauging demand trends in 42 key cities of India.”
Ms. Sood further added, “Our data suggests that most of the homebuyers in Nagpur are looking for apartments and independent homes and micro-markets such as Besa, Somalwada, Manewada, Zingabai Takli, Dighori and KT Nagar are witnessing heightened high-intent homebuyer search traction. We see that this high-intent property search volume peaked in March 2023 as the index reached 223 points – a signal that this positive trend will continue in the coming quarters as well.”
Overall, Housing.com’s expansion in Nagpur is part of its larger strategy to expand its presence in Tier-II cities across India and capitalize on the growing demand for online property searches in these markets.