We’re guided by an app-first, AI-led approach: Housing.com CTO

Real estate search portal Housing.com was recently in the news for reporting a surge in user engagement with its 'Housing Chat' interactive technology, marking a significant advancement in Indian property technology (PropTech). The platform facilitates direct buyer-seller communication via chat and now boasts over 400,000 users and 1 million monthly engagement sessions, a substantial increase from 20,000 users and 25,000 sessions a year prior.

Abhishek Makkar, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of REA India, the parent company of Housing.com and PropTiger, believes that the real estate industry, historically slow to adopt digital transformation, is now seeing a convergence with PropTech that leverages digital solutions like artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality and big data to optimise processes, enhance property transactions, and improve user experience.

Founded in 2012 and acquired by REA India in 2017, Housing.com is a full-stack PropTech platform in India offering listings for various property types, including new homes, resale properties, rentals, plots, commercial spaces, and co-living accommodations.

Makkar said that the technology at Housing.com powers a simpler, smarter property journey. “Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and real-time data create faster, more intuitive, personalised, and trustworthy experiences. This includes smarter search, virtual property walkthroughs, and intelligent systems analysing user signals for relevant and timely interactions."

“Behind the scenes, our intelligent systems analyse millions of user signals to ensure each interaction—whether a property suggestion or a call-to-action—feels relevant and timely. This tech-led approach, especially on our app-first platform, helps reduce noise, builds trust, and personalises the home search process, making it effortless and empowering,” he said.

Makkar added that this app-first strategy has driven a 45% YoY growth in app traffic in the second half of this year alone by bringing personalisation, speed, and convenience to consumers' fingertips. Our investments are focused on AI-driven development, faster release cycles, and an intelligent journey engine that curates personalised property experiences, supported by a secure data platform that understands user intent in real time while safeguarding privacy. “The aim is to deliver smarter experiences so that every Indian homebuyer feels the platform was built for them,” the CTO said.

This year, Housing.com's tech focus centres on faster innovation, deeper personalisation, and smarter insights. They are streamlining build cycles to accelerate feature releases, fine-tuning the journey engine to personalise the home buying process, and transforming raw data into actionable insights for consumers and institutions. Backend efficiencies are being optimised to improve the mobile and web experience.

The company follows a people-first strategy. “Our Gurugram tech hub houses full-stack developers, mobile engineers, AI researchers, data scientists, and cloud specialists,” Makkar said.

According to him, while team size remains steady, skills are evolving, particularly in GenAI and intelligent search, he said, adding that engineers undergo hands-on training in emerging tech with expert mentors. But it’s not just about skills—it’s about culture.

“Our innovative people practices have helped us earn a spot among India’s Best Places to Work, year after year. We continuously invest in the well-being, growth, and psychological safety of our teams—because when our people feel at home, they create technology that makes others feel at home too,” he said.

A recent innovation with technology for example includes its Hindi voice search, enabling millions of Indians to search for homes naturally in their own language. “With Hindi being a widely spoken language nationwide, enabling voice search in Hindi is not just a feature; it's a bridge. It brings millions of Indians closer to their dream home by letting them search naturally, in their own language and voice,” he said.

“Besides, our AI-powered fraud detection model has reduced misleading listings by 40%, improving platform integrity and driving a sharp rise in organic traffic. Meanwhile, engineering upgrades like continuous integration/continuous deployments or CI/CD pipelines have given our teams more bandwidth to build and iterate faster—translating into more consumer-focused features shipped in less time,” he added.

Makkar rates the company’s digital transformation at 7.5 out of 10, built on a cloud-native platform, a real-time customer data engine, and GenAI-driven development. “We’re also focused on autonomous testing, a self-serve data marketplace, and smarter rollout governance, secured by zero-trust infrastructure.

Makkar also believes that there are lessons one should keep learning from competitors. For that, there is a necessity for reliable payments, so we’re building multi-gateway resilience. “We’re also doubling down on AI for search, chat, and post-sales support—to give you answers and assistance, exactly when you need them.

“We’re guided by an app-first and AI-led approach, and building an intuitive and personal platform with timely, relevant, and secure interactions,” said Makkar. The focus is on removing friction and building trust through immersive experiences, intelligent recommendations, and seamless digital transactions.

Makkar believes that PropTech in India is evolving to meet the demands of a mobile-first audience. “The industry is shifting from static listings to AI-powered discovery and using VR/AR to redefine property exploration. Secure, paperless workflows are streamlining transactions via blockchain. Platforms are prioritising trust, privacy, and personalisation, blending technology with simplicity for a seamless, accessible, and future-ready home-buying journey,” he summed up.