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We often do blurbs on proptech and how billions of dollars are being invested in it to ease the way we conduct our real estate transactions, but this is a special blurb.
On our usual browsing spree for interesting news on our sector, we came across a tech led real estate brokerage - REK, one of the first in Kashmir.
Wow! Tell Us More
The REK Group, short for Real Estate Kashmir, has had an up and down journey over the last 12 years.
First started by three friends -- Asif Zahoor, Mohammad Shadab, and Mir Fanoon Rafiq, REK initially started off in 2009 with small renovation projects, but with the arrival of 2010 and some of the most turbulent days in Kashmir, the REK initiative was shelved.The trio went on their separate ways in different countries, gaining more hands-on real estate experience and regrouped post 2015, with fresh ideas from Mohammad Asif Sheikh, and a consensus that the time to restart operations in Kashmir had come.
Tech Led Consumer Focus
Kashmir, like most real estate markets in India is largely unorganised, with unrealistic property pricing and unscrupulous deals dotting the transaction landscape.
In a welcome change from that market environment, the folks at REK are focused on consumer delight, listing only verified and right priced properties.
On their digital journey, after a long period of hesitancy from property owners, listings slowly started trickling in and today, REK uses a mix of social media, videos, a website and an application to make real estate easy for anyone looking at selling or acquiring property in the valley.
The Proof Is In The Numbers
"We are the only technology-driven real-estate firm in Kashmir; the one-stop solution for all real-estate requirements of Kashmiris,” Asif Sheikh recently quoted to the press.
Now to see how REK scales up its operations as the real estate market consolidates, while reforms make private equity investments more compelling than ever before.