People Group’s real estate site goes live

The site, Makaan.com, is live in beta and adds to People Group’s portfolio, which already has matrimony and social media sites

The People Group, which owns the flagship matrimonial site, Shaadi.com, has made live the beta version of its real estate site, Makaan.com (reported in WATBlog on Thursday). The site currently has the most basic features – listings of residential and commercial properties in 11 cities in addition to Delhi and the National Capital Region.

Apparently, the company had considered the name 2bhk after the lingo used in classified ads and still owns the domain name, but has settled for the more generic ‘Makaan’. As the statement on the website’s ‘About Us’ page goes, “People Group has transformed the matrimonial scene in India with Shaadi.com, as most Indians refer to a marriage as a ‘shaadi’. With ‘Makaan.com’, we hope to extend a similar relationship between Indian real estate and Makaan.”

People Group’s real estate site goes live

The site is still seeking advertisers and besides display advertising, it offers basic and special listings. It also allows advertisers to customise their banners and make payments online. When contacted, the company refused to divulge any details as the site has not yet been officially launched.

Classified advertising is one of the fastest growing segments in India. ZenithOptimedia predicts that from Rs 148.5 crore in 2005, classified advertising will grow to Rs 900 crore by 2009. Most of the existing real estate portals are already moving on to the next level. MagicBricks.com of Times Internet Ltd recently added a maps feature for users to locate properties. 99acres.com, owned by Info Edge Ltd, offers finance options and NRI services, besides the usual classified listings. Indiaproperty.com of the Bharatmatrimony Group has a blog called Property Bytes and has also tied up with Yahoo! Answer on property related queries.

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