Another reason for PropertyGuru to remain rooted in ASEAN is the growing numbers of wealthy individuals who
will be looking to real estate to park their money. This, the CEO said, is where the property technology company sees its services fitting in.
Founded in
2007, PropertyGuru hosts more than 2.8 million monthly real estate listings, serving over 50 million property seekers a month and over 50,000 active property agents across ASEAN.
The companys virtual property marketplace matches buyers and tenants with sellers and landlords, and also offers digital marketing services for property
agents and developers.
It had planned to list in Australia in October 2019 when it tried to raise about 380 million Australian dollars (around $280
million), but the plans fell through, which the company attributed to uncertain market conditions at the time.
In May, PropertyGuru announced plans to
acquire rival platforms in Malaysia and Thailand to cement its position as Southeast Asias dominant online housing marketplace.
It has bought all
of the shares in the units of Australias REA Group that run iProperty.com.my and Brickz.my in Malaysia, as well as thinkofliving.com and Prakard.com in Thailand.
Currently, PropertyGuru derives 75% of its revenue from subscription packages it offers to real estate agents for them to target homebuyers, while 25% of its
takings come from services offered to property developers, such as marketing.
Minus non-recurring expenses, the
companys adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization has been positive in recent years, but CEO Krishnan said PropertyGuru is set to see a negative adjusted EBITDA this year, partially due to headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its increasing pivot to fintech, with the aim for financial services to comprise 12% of the
companys revenue in five years, offers a way for the company to diversify its income streams amid pressures from the operating environment.
One of
its first fintech offering came in 2020, when PropertyGuru launched a mortgage marketplace offering loans and advisory services to home seekers in Singapore.
In Malaysia, it had already been providing a digital service to assess prospective property buyers creditworthiness prior to their applications for home
loans.
In Singapore, users are able to compare, select and secure home loans with input from advisers, as well as seek refinancing options for loan
packages they have signed up for.
In just over a year, we have already brokered over 1 billion Singapore dollars ($736 million) worth of
home loans, so thats a very quick start, Krishnan said.
He added that PropertyGurus loan brokerage function is in the process of
reducing the physical paperwork typically required when borrowing from banks, in an effort to make the entire process digital.
3