Online real estate platform CommonFloor.com on Thursday announced that it has secured fresh funds from Google Capital, the internet giant’s equity fund. Though the company did not disclose the quantum of the investment, people in the know put the figure at $15 million, signaling investor enthusiasm in the country’s $80-billion organised real estate market.
Sources added that Google Capital will also get a board seat in the company. CommonFloor, which was launched in 2007 by Sumit Jain, Lalit Mangal and Vikas Malpani, had earlier raised close to $50 million from Accel Partners and Tiger Global, including a $30-million round from the latter in September last year.
“This will further fuel our vision to empower people to realise their property dreams. We continue to exhibit industry leading growth; the money raised will be strategically invested in making the platform more robust to enable the buyers and sellers to find their match faster,” said Jain.
This happens to be Google Capital’s third investment in Asia. Some of its prominent investments are SurveyMonkey, Lending Club, Credit Karma and Freshdesk. Google Capital had also invested in auction.com in the US, which is a marketplace for small and large investors.
David Lawee, partner at Google Capital, said: “CommonFloor.com makes it easy for people in India to research, buy, sell and rent real estate. The online real estate market in India is poised for tremendous growth, which is why we’re excited to work closely with CommonFloor’s excellent team in the months and years ahead.”
This investment comes at a time when the Centre is allocating R4,000 crore for providing housing for all by 2022. It has lowered interest rates on home loans, established a framework for REITs and, most recently, relaxed FDI norms in the construction sector.