NoBroker acquires Society Connect to step up its larger home services play

“Most people buy one-two properties in their lifetime… We want to be relevant throughout their home journey,” said Amit Kumar Agarwal, Founder and CEO of NoBroker, a Bengaluru-based real estate service provider which connects flat owners and tenants directly.

The acquisition of society accounting software company — Society Connect — is a step in that direction. On Tuesday, NoBroker announced that it acquired the company in an all-cash deal, and has absorbed the entire team. “That was a requirement we were seeing from the flats that are part of the NoBroker inventory,” Agarwal told Tech2.

The company has not disclosed the exact details, but the deal is expected to be worth between Rs 15–20 crore. Society Connect had raised Rs 4–5 crore from investors, who have exited during the buyout.

With the help of Society Connect, Agarwal said that resident welfare associations will be able to not just manage the entire accounting, but can also keep track of visitors. “Our focus has been to provide end-to-end solutions for all aspects of community management and simplify apartment living,” he added.

Society Connect also brings in 1,50,000 flats, which are already its customers, and counts marquee developers like Ashiana and DLF as its clients. “There is also a tangential benefit to the NoBroker brand,” Agarwal explains. NoBroker hopes that these 1,50,000 new flats that get added to their inventory will start using some of the other services that the real estate platform provides.

The market for organising community management is a big opportunity. There are more than 1,00,000 societies with more than 200 flats in each of them, explains Akhil Gupta, Co-Founder and CTO of NoBroker. “Only 10 percent of it is organised. There is a market of 20 million flats,” he adds.

NoBroker already provides allied services like packers and movers, rent collection and payment, among other things. In the years to come it plans to offer a lot more than these basic services.

“Right now home loan is a big problem,” said Agarwal. “We want to solve that too.” Whether a homeowner requires a paint job to be done or repair work, NoBroker should be able to provide all of that, claims Agarwal. And there’s more. “Whether it is Vaastu related queries, or they want a Pandit for Grihapravesh, we will provide whatever the customer wants,” said Agarwal.