Rebi to set up 70 property shops

After organised retail, it's organised realty services that are foraying into Gujarat. Probably, the only player in this segment so far, Real Estate Bank India Pvt Ltd (Rebi) is setting up a chain of 70 property shops in the state offering services like property valuations, mortgages, loans and broking.

The company works across four major verticals "" data bank, financial services, property transactions and property shops, "" apart from seven sub-verticals.

"At Rebi, we create centralised databank of properties, offer property-related financial services like home loans, property mortgage, property insurance and property valuation, and buy-sell-rent all categories of residential, commercial and industrial properties. Through the property shops, we try to integrate all these services, which we believe is a unique concept in the real estate sector," said Lakshmi Narayanan, president and chief executive officer of Rebi.

Refusing to divulge details about investment in Gujarat, Narayanan said Rebi plans to open 70 showrooms in Gujarat covering all tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat, and Gandhinagar by the end of this year.

"We will provide financial services to the property buyers, property transaction services, legal assistance in property buying, property valuation and management services through property shops in Gujarat. It will be based on a franchisee model," he added.

In the first year of its operations in the state, the company hopes to do a business of Rs 3-4 crore. Rebi, which is already associated with real estate majors like DLF, is in talks with other such players to offer these services across their projects.

Based on its market survey, the company see a growth potential of 60-70 per cent in tier-II and tier-III cities of Gujarat.

"The real estate industry in the country, valued at $18 billion, is growing at the rate of 25-30 per cent per annum. By 2010, the industry would be valued at $25 billion and $50 billion by 2015. These figures indicate a growing demand for middle and low segment residential properties as well as commercial space. This growth has been diverted towards the tier 2 and tier 3 cities which is where we intend to be present."

Nationally, Rebi plans to have 3,000 property shop in the next two years and is also targeting countries like Singapore, Malaysia, US, UK, Australia and the West Asia. The company has already launched 10 shops in these countries. To fund its expansion plans, it intends to enter the capital market by 2009-10.

According to Narayanan, NRI fund flow in the real estate segment has attracted the company to Gujarat. Rebi already has a presence in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. The initial focus through the property shops will be on retail customers since there are already companies that serve the corporates, he added.