Calculating the real ROX on real estate

The true value of a luxury home is not defined by the value you have paid to buy it. A home is defined by the experiences it offers – it is a safe haven for its inhabitants from the hustle bustle of the outside world. So, whether it is amenities like a playground or gymnasium that add value to your everyday life, or proximity to your workplace, or even a flavour of nature in the gated complex, the true return on experience (ROX) that a home brings goes far beyond its monetary value.

The latest episode of a Mint special series called Life’s True Value, saw Saurabh Garg, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer at NoBroker.com, explore the world of luxury homes and uncover their connection with ROX. NoBroker is one of India’s first PropTech unicorns and a first of its kind C2C real estate platform across the world that addresses the house hunting hassles and intermediation costs faced by Indian home seekers. Founded in 2014, the platform has helped more than 3.5 crore Indians find homes, saving more than 20,000 crore in brokerage.

Choosing the right home

Garg spoke about the common factors that people look for while buying homes. “Luxury homes go beyond the price tag. They are about elevating the living experience – it is about how people who are living in those luxury homes find their life much more fulfilling,” he said, listing 3-4 things that define that.

These include the locality, the entire living experience, a community of like-minded people with whom you can build meaningful connections, and the ease of travel that it offers, whether it is going to the office, or your child’s school or places where you go over the weekends. One needs amenities like a swimming pool, a squash court, a gymnasium and a play area for children.

Speaking about what luxury means in home spaces, he said: “Every luxurious home should have a small home office. I think that’s very important, because that is a place where you can recollect your thoughts, maybe make some notes and just be ready for the next day at work. You can be there alone, nobody is going to disturb you, and you can just do your stuff.”

Running a large business comes with its share of stress and Garg has a coping mechanism for that. “We’ve been very lucky to have a great team, so a lot of stress doesn’t come to me, and the team is able to manage that. And again, we are very lucky that we have such great customers who keep coming back and using the service, so that keeps the stress down. But there is stress at times, and what I try to do is sit at my terrace, watch the sun for some time, play squash, and do some bit of meditation,” he said.

His home-search journey

Garg’s search for a rented home in Mumbai after he quit his job at Unilever to start his own venture was nothing short of a nightmare. He saw multiple homes through brokers, none of which were to his liking and the brokers tried to hard-sell some of the worst houses. Finally, he got a home after two months and paid a sizable amount as brokerage to close the deal.

“The funny thing is that after 11 months, when I was renewing my agreement with the same landlord, the broker came back and demanded the brokerage again. That was like a tipping point. I said that we need to solve for this, because millions of people like me have to do every year, every month, and this is a big problem. So, back in 2007 I booked this domain name, NoBroker.in. It was just a thought at that time,” he further added.

His personal experience formed the inspiration to start NoBroker in 2013, with two co-founders, Akhil and Amit, who had similar experiences in Bangalore and Kolkata. The initial response was great as the platform was inundated with requests for both rent and buy/sell. But, the challenge came with convincing investors, because they needed to raise money to grow and scale.

Most investors felt that a solution like this doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. So, why will it work in India? “But, India is a very different market, and we always pride ourselves to say that we are a very made for India solution. Because if you go to the western part of the world, it’s a very structured market. A broker has to go through a certification to become a broker. They add value in the entire transaction in India, everybody is a broker. Even a chaiwala is a broker,” Garg said.

Backed by investors like Google, Tiger Global and General Atlantic, no broker has raised $366 million to date.

The role of technology

Garg has been one of the pioneers in bringing technology to the real estate space with the PropTech app. Talking about how technology itself becomes a piece of luxury, especially in high-end properties, he said: “Technology has really redefined luxury real estate. Till a few years back, you had to visit maybe 10 properties to find one property. Now, you can do it at the click of a button from your mobile phone itself. Think of smart home automation that makes the entire experience so much more seamless, or energy efficient houses. We have a NoBrokerHOOD society management app, where you can approve visitors from the comfort of your home, or book amenities, book services. I think technology is enhancing luxury – it is about the comfort and ease of living.”

The platform has saved more than ₹20,000 crore as brokerage. “The amount of brokerage paid every year in India is around ₹1,80,000 crore. Last year, we saved around ₹6,500 crore. So, we’ve just scratched the surface. There’s still a lot more that we need to do. We are present in six cities and need to expand to 50. We also need to make it more accessible. We also are trying to become a one stop shop, so everything that you need to do in your real estate journey you can do at NoBroker,” he concluded.

Note to the Reader: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times.