The tech-based real estate investment platforms promoting the idea are expected to collect additional funds to invest in multiple Grade A commercial properties across Mumbai, NCR and Bengaluru as fractional real estate investing gains momentum at the Covid-19 pandemic period.

Tech-based Realty Companies Investments

Hbits, which invests money raised from individuals into commercial assets, said it is in the process of raising Rs 500 crore to invest in commercial real estate properties leased to multinational corporations by December 2021. The founder of hBits, Shiv Parekh, said that it has earned Rs 20 crore so far and will earn Rs 100 crore by March 21.

Overall, in the next 3-4 years, they would like to develop a portfolio of Rs 5,000 crore. Commercial property is still in demand, and the pandemic has made it the right time to acquire.

Fractional investment in real estate is a modern and secure way to invest in commercial real estate in the present situation, as they command higher rents and draw large Indian and MNC tenants. And several high-earning professionals in real estate are prepared to invest between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 2 crore.

Strata, a tech-enabled real estate investment platform, said that by the next financial year it wants to take its assets under management (AUM) to Rs 1000 crore and target markets including  Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad.

This pandemic has moved real estate towards a cultural shift based on a greater dependency on technology, just like the demonetisation movement, said Sudarshan Lodha, Strata's co-founder.

In the last year, Strata has raised Rs 200 crore of investments in commercial assets such as office space, fractional route warehousing, of which 70% of the investments were collected during the lockdown of the pandemic.

Although investors are now actively looking at non-volatile, alternative investment choices, they are also increasingly aware of better data controls—location, construction specs, tenancy, returns, rental yields, etc. As a result, there is a sudden spike of interest in several non-conventional properties, including warehousing, data centres, and the Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

These platforms state that retail investors are now seeing alternative options in CRE offering higher returns, ranging from 8-12 percent through a fractional investment, looking to diversify or invest in a second home.

By: Shailaja K