The Future of Real Estate Is Immersive and Data-Driven

News

1. Graas.ai Secures $9 Million to Expand Agent Foundry in India

2. OpenAI’s GPT-5 is Finally Here

3. UST and ThinkBio.Ai Partner to Boost AI-Led R&D in Biopharma

4. AWS, WinZO Double Down on GenAI for Indian Gaming

5. Masters’ Union, Rabbitt AI, AIWO Launch Classroom AI Program

6. Indian IT Recasts Talent Strategy as AI Reshapes Operations

 

The Indian real estate sector is evolving, shaped by changing consumer expectations and rapid adoption of new technology. “Buying a property is a deeply emotional journey, but technology can make it more transparent, intuitive, and engaging,” said Prasun Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer and Business Head at Magicbricks.

In an interview with MIT Sloan Management Review India, Kumar spoke about how AI, AR/VR, and data-backed platforms are changing the way homes are marketed, discovered, and experienced—and why the next phase of proptech will be driven by personalization and immersive design.

Edited excerpts:

The Indian real estate market is highly competitive. How does Magicbricks differentiate its brand, and what recent campaigns have been particularly successful?

Since the pandemic, the Indian real estate market has shown remarkable resilience and has been one of the fastest sectors to recover. It’s also a highly competitive market, with hundreds of developers, thousands of brokers, and numerous online property platforms vying for attention.

Magicbricks has consistently been a leader in this space, both for consumers and as a thought leader. Our primary strengths lie in being the largest aggregator of demand and supply, and offering the most comprehensive suite of products and services to meet our clients’ and consumers’ needs.

We believe that buying a property is a deeply emotional journey, and our marketing campaigns reflect this. Unlike many competitors who focus on a transactional approach, we build our narratives around the emotional payout of finding a new home. Our campaigns are designed to connect with consumers on a personal level, which has been a key differentiator for us.

Some of our most successful campaigns include “Do Deewane” (2015), “Properties ka Supermarket” (2017), and “Pata Badlo Life Badlo” (2019), which starred Ayushmann Khurrana and Kriti Sanon. The “Pata Badlo Life Badlo” campaign, in particular, was widely acclaimed and won multiple industry awards for its powerful insights and unique storytelling.

These campaigns have been crucial in expanding our reach, encouraging more home buyers to go online, and fostering stronger engagement. At Magicbricks, we practice ‘heartbeat marketing’, which uses technology, data, and insights to connect with consumers at every relevant moment of their lives.

How has consumer behavior in the property sector evolved post-pandemic, and how has Magicbricks adapted its marketing and product strategies in response?

The COVID-19 lockdown fundamentally changed what consumers wanted in a home. For the first time, people felt the need for dedicated spaces for recreation, children’s studies, and home offices. The desire for more space became an important factor.

After the lockdown, this shift was reflected in a significant increase in demand for larger homes, properties with extra rooms, and spacious balconies. Developers quickly adapted by launching projects with more 3BHK+ configurations to meet this demand. This shift was a major catalyst for the quick recovery of the premium and luxury real estate segments.

The pandemic also accelerated the digitization of daily life, and Magicbricks was at the forefront of this change. We fast-tracked the development of new solutions for both consumers and clients. For homebuyers, we launched innovative tools like PropWorth, a property evaluation tool that helps consumers determine a fair price and negotiate more effectively.

For our clients, we rolled out several solutions, including Readpro, a CRM tool designed to help brokers efficiently manage their data and streamline their business operations. Additionally, we expanded our offerings to include Magic Loans, a platform that aggregates home loan options, and a similar platform for interior design services.

This evolution has transformed Magicbricks from a simple search and discovery platform into a comprehensive, end-to-end service provider offering a wide range of products across various categories.

With the acceleration of digital transformation, how does Magicbricks utilize digital marketing, consumer analytics, and content to drive its growth?

As a digital-native online platform, Magicbricks lives and breathes digital. For us, digital isn’t just a marketing channel—it’s the core of how we operate. Digital marketing is central to all our initiatives, enabling us to connect and engage with our consumers 24/7.

We have a robust digital marketing framework that supports our diverse businesses, including buy, sell, and rent, as well as home loans and home interiors. Our commitment to digital transformation extends to our ecosystem partners, where we help them digitize their operations to improve efficiency and foster industry growth.

A prime example is our suite of SaaS and CRM products for the broker community, which had a significant need for digital tools. Our Readpro CRM tool is now widely used by brokers across the country. We also provide developers with a variety of digital and content tools to better engage with property buyers. This includes Convrse AI, an initiative that uses technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for digital visualization.

On the content front, we have built the world’s largest online real estate platform, MBTV. This YouTube channel features unique, original content and has amassed over 600,000 subscribers, giving us the largest reach among our target audience. MBTV has also been recognized with industry awards for its innovative content.

What future trends do you foresee reshaping India’s real estate and proptech landscape, and how is Magicbricks preparing for them?

The future of real estate will be shaped by personalization, immersive technology, and greater transparency. We are already seeing how AI is transforming discovery by anticipating customer needs, while AR/VR is opening up possibilities for virtual property exploration, enabling buyers to experience properties from anywhere. Beyond that, the sector will also see data-backed valuation tools and a rising focus on sustainable, green housing, driven by a more conscious and aspirational consumer base.

At Magicbricks, we are actively preparing for these shifts by investing in advanced technology and enhancing our platform to deliver greater convenience, clarity, and confidence. For instance, Convrse AI is an immersive-tech product specialized in 3D, Virtual Reality, and Metaverse solutions for real estate.

Is Magicbricks exploring or planning to integrate emerging technologies like AI or AR/VR into its user experience?

At Magicbricks, we’re using technology to transform the real estate experience in India. We have multiple products that are at the forefront of this effort. But I would like to talk about two key products. Convrse AI is our immersive technology product that specializes in 3D, virtual reality, and metaverse solutions. This tool allows us to deliver highly personalized property recommendations, helping users discover and shortlist properties that perfectly match their preferences. By leveraging advanced space design, Web 3.0, and AI, we’re elevating the entire real estate marketing and sales experience for our customers.

Our second product is Launch Maximizer, an exclusive, comprehensive solution for real estate developers. This end-to-end package is designed to create maximum buzz, buyer engagement, and lead generation from the very start of a project. It combines high-impact marketing, research, content, and lead-generation tools to ensure maximum visibility and reach across the pre-launch, launch, and post-launch phases.

These aren’t just minor enhancements; they’re part of our broader mission to simplify the home-buying journey. We’re creating intuitive, transparent, and engaging experiences for everyone involved. By embracing these technologies, we’re aiming to redefine how people interact with real estate platforms in India.