Equity Address was founded in 2021 by four friends after real estate investments were yielding less than 2% during the pandemic. The startup offers tokenised ownership and an alternative approach to fractional ownership of high-end vacation homes, providing second home investors with rent-free holidays and rental income.
Equity Address, a tech-driven real estate platform, was founded in 2021 by Mohit Gupta, Abhishek Madhukar, Puneet Gupta, and Aashish Raj after real estate investments were yielding less than 2% during the pandemic. The company aims to democratize and disrupt the holiday home market by offering tokenised ownership and an alternative approach to fractional ownership of high-end vacation homes. Equity Addressys-connect is a platform that simplifies paperwork, asset valuation, and title reports, reducing registration transaction time to around 90-120 days.
The company offers rent-free holidays and rental income for investors, with properties ranging from 2 BHK apartments to 4 BHK private pool villas. The average villa rental across India ranges from Rs 35K to Rs 50K per day. The minimum share any investor can own is 10% or 1/10 of the whole asset, and there can be a maximum of 10 investors per property. Equity Address currently has approximately nine properties in Goa and 20 investors.
In February 2022, Equity Address Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of Equity Address, launched The Venya, a platform that curates premium holiday properties such as luxury villas, boutique properties, and luxury apartments for short-term rentals of around 35 days. The platform aims to make vacation home ownership and luxury assets more accessible for people worldwide. With over 500 listings, Venya provides homeowners with the opportunity to generate income through rentals while eliminating concerns about property management and guest services.
Equity Address also offers an exclusive private travel app, Venya-X, through which they can avail rent-free holidays for around 35 days per year. The platform uses AI and machine learning (ML) to help investors discover homes, estimate rentals, and predict investment hotspots. It also uses VR and IoT technologies to map homes, extend global reach, and simplify fractional buying and selling.
The startup faces challenges such as land ownership rights varying across states, legal and regulatory challenges, and unorganized second home markets. Equity Address charges 5% platform fees from investors on the purchase of fractional ownership and 3% on resale after a lock-in period. It also earns management revenue, which is 20% of the rental generation. The Venya operates on a revenue-sharing model with homeowners and charges platform fees for exclusive listings, with a revenue share of 80% from owners and 20% from the platform.
Equity Address has generated $200K in revenue so far and plans to increase revenue ten-fold in the next year. The company competes with companies such as Alyf, Your’s, Hotel Yaari, Strata Prop, and HBITS, as well as indirect competitors like PACASO, MYNE, and VIVLA, and international competitors like GET STAKE, Landa, and FINTOR.
Equity Address intends to acquire additional vacation homes and sell shares in 20 villas and 15 apartments worth Rs 120 crore in FY 23-24, with a target of attracting 200 retail investors. The company is looking to secure $2.5 million in equity and $10 million in debt from various investors, including strategic investors, venture capitalists, private equity, family offices, and angel investors. Over the next two years, the company plans to expand in MENA, SEA, and Europe, and introduce a Luxury Residence Fund of Rs 500 crore in 2023-24, offering global co-ownership of luxury holiday homes and making it possible for Indian investors to invest in international properties.
Conclusion
Equity Address, a fintech platform founded in 2021, aims to disrupt the holiday home market by offering tokenized ownership and an alternative to fractional ownership of high-end vacation homes. The company simplifies paperwork, asset valuation, and title reports, reducing registration time to 90-120 days. Equity Address offers rent-free holidays and rental income for investors, with properties ranging from 2 BHK apartments to 4 BHK private pool villas. In February 2022, Equity Address Pvt. Ltd launched The Venya, a platform that curates premium holiday properties for short-term rentals using AI, machine learning, VR, and IoT technologies. The platform charges 5% platform fees for fractional ownership purchases and 3% on resale after a lock-in period. Equity Address has generated $200K in revenue so far and plans to increase revenue tenfold in the next year. The company plans to acquire additional vacation homes and sell shares worth Rs 120 crore in FY 23-24, attracting 200 retail investors. The company plans to expand in MENA, SEA, and Europe over the next two years.
