Tag: Shajai Jacob

Business

ANAROCK Launches Smart Community Management Proptech Platform ANACITY for Middle East and Africa

Sep 14, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Aayush Puri, #Head GCC – ANACITY, #Managing Director & Country Head – ApnaComplex, #Shajai Jacob

Mumbai: Having acquired society and apartment management PropTech platform ApnaComplex in January 2021, India’s leading tech-led real estate services firm ANAROCK has launched ANACITY – a Smart Community Automation PropTech solution for managing gated communities, apartments and villas globally. A SaaS (software-as-a-service) product, ANACITY helps apartment management companies to significantly reduce costs and boost the scope and efficiency of their services.

Initially conceived for the Middle East market, ANACITY will also address the global market. The UAE currently leads in tech adoption, and real estate and PropTech are central concepts against the backdrop of Dubai Expo 2020. According to the Dubai Statistics Centre, there were around 690K+ units in Dubai as of 2020. ANACITY aims to onboard 30,000 units in the first year itself.

Launching from its dedicated office in Dubai, ANACITY will expand across all major GCC and African markets such as Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. After that, it will become available in other African markets, UK, Europe, and South-East Asia.

Apart from its unique features of managing visitors, community finance and ERP, complaint redressal, facility bookings, communications, etc., the application also provides very differentiated Covid -19 management features such as tracking infection and quarantine cases, vaccination status of residents, recording temperature checks and much more, thereby helping communities keep track.

Gated communities in the UAE are managed by the Owners Association Management Companies (OAM). The ANACITY application allows OAMs to manage multiple residential communities simultaneously via a highly intuitive platform and mobile app. ANACITY has been developed on the back of 17,000 community management interactions. It covers every possible scenario, while simultaneously ensuring complete data protection and regulatory compliance. Its currently available through a smart mobile app as well as back-end web portal for OAM service providers.

“As a direct result of the compulsions of the COVID-19 pandemic, technology solutions development is on a steep growth tangent in the UAE and GCC. ANACITY directly addresses the need for ‘touch-free’, automated gated community management”, says Aayush Puri, Head GCC – ANACITY. “It has relevance for all kinds of residential project typologies regardless of size or complexity, and directly benefits all involved stakeholders. This app-based solution will completely redefine the concept of smart living.”

Shajai Jacob, Managing Director & Country Head - ApnaComplex
Shajai Jacob, Managing Director & Country Head – ApnaComplex

“ANACITY will emerge as one of the fastest global proptech disruptors globally,” says Shajai Jacob, Managing Director & Country Head – ApnaComplex. “It caters to a largely untapped international base of customers and their service providers. The plug-and-play ANACITY solution can be deployed remotely, with minimal local human involvement, completely replacing the multiple digital and non-digital systems currently being used by OAMs.”

Currently, ANACITY has a team of 15 skilled technology and operations specialists with extensive experience in community management proptech and will scale up its strength, in tandem with its international expansion.

As the international arm of ApnaComplex, ANACITY builds on a successful track record legacy of 11+ years in India. ApnaComplex currently caters to over 6,000 gated communities and 6,00,000 apartments across over 80 Indian cities.

Business World

Model Tenancy Act Brings Cheer to NRIs

Jun 10, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #ANAROCK, #MD & Country Head – ApnaComplex & CEO - GCC, #Shajai Jacob

Shajai JacobBy Shajai Jacob, MD & Country Head – ApnaComplex & CEO – GCC, ANAROCK

The Union Cabinet’s approval for the Model Tenancy Act is being hailed as a landmark moment in Indian real estate. In one of the most significant developments for residential real estate investors, no one will henceforth be allowed to enter into a rental situation without a written agreement – and that’s not all.

Aimed at increasing confidence of landlords to rent out their vacant properties, this Act will serve as booster for NRI investments. For an NRI investor, it is a great assurance that the tenant of their property is bound by legal terms. Further, the act defines the timeline within which any rental disputes will be resolved.

The new law also calls for a digital platform where tenancy agreements need to be submitted to the rent authority in future. Digital infrastructure is more convenient and brings an added level of transparency for NRI landlords. With this Act, there is now a clear demarcation of responsibilities between a tenant and landlord.
NRIs have always shown a keen interest in investing in Indian real estate. However, the uncertainties around ensuring that tenants uphold the terms and condition of the rental agreements were, so far, significantly high for NRIs. The entire process of finding a tenant and collecting the dues is usually carried out by family or close associates in India.

With the rental market now becoming more organized, institutional service providers will come into the picture to address the market demands. The increased trust and confidence thus generated will enable NRIs to easily monetize their existing vacant residential properties by letting them out in a coherent, cohesive, and easily manageable way.

The last two quarters have seen significant traction of ready-to-move inventories in India’s prime residential markets. The new regulatory framework will provide additional impetus to this demand. With the implementation of the Model Tenancy Act, prices of RTMI properties are expected to increase soon.

As per ANAROCK Research, over 4.22 lakh homes are scheduled for delivery by 2021-end. It is interesting to note that only 28% of these homes are unsold as on date. Going by the burgeoning demand for ready homes, developers will continue to be mindful of adhering to delivery schedules despite the impact of the pandemic’s second wave – which is already showing signs of abating.

Most of these near completion units are in the mid-range and affordable segments. 40% of the stock is priced less than INR 40 lakhs and 35% is priced between INR 40 to INR 80 lakhs.

With very low interest rates and the currency exchange rate still very much on the side of NRIs, this is indeed a promising time for those with an eye of income-generating residential assets. Property rates remain range-bound and developer offers and discounts are still available for serious buyers.

With the regulatory framework for rental homes now also being strengthened and rendered increasingly transparent, it is the perfect time for NRIs to invest in Indian real estate for sustained rental income.