Tata Value Homes launches e-commerce platform

Tata Value Homes, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Housing, on Monday launched its exclusive e-commerce platform to sell flats and is eyeing up to Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) revenue by FY2015-16.

"We have witnessed an evolution in the consumer preference over the years for using e-commerce platform for home buying. To cash in on this change in consumer preference, we have decided to launch our exclusive portal that will showcase our value and affordable housing offerings," Tata Housing Managing Director and CEO Brotin Banerjee told PTI.

Explaining the online home buying model, he said consumers can book their apartments on www.tatavaluehomes.com by paying Rs 30,000.

"We have witnessed a rising demand in the value and affordable housing segment from the middle class and so we plan to focus more on this category of buyers. We are expecting to clock up to Rs 1,000 crore revenue from this business by FY'16," Banerjee said.

Tata Value Homes has so far sold over one million sq ft of residential space, which translated into over 700 units generating over Rs 300 crore worth revenue.

The company has developed properties in cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai, which range between Rs 29.9 lakh to Rs 59.9 lakh depending on the size of the apartments that range between 1 BHK and 3 BHK.

He said the company will launch three more projects under the affordable housing segment in the next 90-100 days in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata which add another 15,000 units.

"These three projects alone would give us visibility of up to Rs 500 crore," Banerjee said, adding, "we will be soon launching a few more in Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune. These are currently at various stages of approvals. Also, we are looking at opportunities for developing projects, be it greenfield or under joint development."

He said the company may invest up to Rs 1,000 crore for new projects. Explaining the online home buying model, he said the company had earlier tied-up with Snapdeal for selling its properties. "Based on the in-depth analysis of customers who have

booked our value homes online last year, it has been observed that 39 per cent of them did so with an intent to live in them with their families. With the increasing internet penetration, the new platform builds on the vision of being the largest provider of homes," Banerjee said.

He further said the demand was mainly from tier-II cities, including Patna, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Jaipur, Indore, Baroda, Surat, Mangalore, Mysore, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Trichy, Bhubaneswar, Leh among others, and from NRIs who want to invest in these fast growing markets.