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Real estate broking company Coldwell Banker India has entered the Pune market and is eyeing a business of Rs 400 crore from its network.
The company is planning to appoint 30 franchisees by the end of 2015 and take this to 100 by 2018. The company recently entered the Pune market, where it has a franchising model for select partners only and will be appointing around 20 agents in the first year of its operation.
Coldwell Banker India is the Indian master franchisee of the US-headquartered Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
"Coldwell Banker India has taken significant steps in expanding its presence across India. In a span of six months we have forayed into nine cities with a plan to have 30 franchisees by 2015 and touch the 100 franchisees mark by 2018. Pune is the latest addition to our portfolio. For a city that is growing in all directions, we have taken a region-specific approach to offer high-quality real estate brokerage services for its working population," said Ramesh Sharma, director, Coldwell Banker India.
"Coldwell Banker's operations were launched around six months back. We have nine franchisees till now and one master franchisee in Bangalore and Pune," Sharma added. The parent company Coldwell Banker enjoys a market share of 30 per cent in the US. The Indian arm aims to acquire 5 to 7 per cent market share in the country within the next three to five years.
According to Mona Jalota, vice president for operations and strategy, Coldwell Banker India sees good potential in the Pune residential market.
While US-based CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield and UK-based Knight Frank are the largest realty brokerage in the country.
"Global Quality of Living Rankings for 2015 place Pune on the 145th spot, second in India after Hyderabad and ahead of Bangalore, Mumbai and other cities. The city has a large base of homebuyers from the IT and manufacturing sectors who seek affordable EMI options and minimal maintenance charges. Given the enormous income generating capabilities and positive government policies, Pune is fast emerging as the preferred city for home-buyers," says Jalota. For 2015, we are targeting 2 per cent share of the total retail brokerage potential pegged at about Rs 400 crores.
Jalota added, "All the major international property consultants (IPC) are focussing majorly on commercial realty sector in Chennai and there are not many focussed on the residential segment."
While US-based CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield and UK-based Knight Frank are the largest realty brokerage in the country.
According to Coldwell Banker India's latest report on Pune realty trends, With 85 per cent of Pune buyers in search of options worth less than Rs 30 lakh, 14 per cent for homes between Rs 30-60 lakh and one per cent with a Rs 60 lakh-1 crore budget.
