Aurum PropTech has agreed to acquire Locon Solutions, the company behind Housing.com, in an all-equity deal valued at Rs. 458 crore. The deal is one of the bigger consolidation moves in India’s proptech space and comes after Aurum earlier acquired PropTiger from REA India.

At first glance, the deal may look confusing because Housing.com, PropTiger, REA India and Aurum PropTech have all been connected in different ways over the years. But the story is actually simple. REA India owned Housing.com and PropTiger. Aurum first took over PropTiger, and now it is buying Housing.com too.

This means Aurum is trying to build a larger real estate technology ecosystem that covers property search, brokerage, rentals, transactions, home loans, data and AI-led services under one umbrella.

What exactly has Aurum acquired

Aurum PropTech will acquire 100 percent of Locon Solutions Pvt Ltd from REA India Pte Ltd.

Locon Solutions owns and operates Housing.com. The platform is one of India’s well-known property search portals, used by home buyers, tenants, developers and brokers.

The deal is worth Rs. 458 crore and will be completed through a share swap. That means Aurum is not paying cash. Instead, it will issue shares to REA India.

Aurum will issue about 1.98 crore equity shares at Rs. 231.42 per share to REA India. After the transaction, REA India’s stake in Aurum PropTech will rise to 24.9 percent.

The transaction still needs regulatory, statutory and shareholder approvals and is expected to close by September 30, 2026.

Understanding the relationship between REA India, Aurum and Housing/Proptiger

Here is the clean version.

Housing.com was founded in 2012 and later became part of REA India. Its legal operating company is Locon Solutions.

PropTiger was founded in 2011 by Dhruv Agarwala, Kartik Varma and Prashan Agarwal. It also became part of REA India.

REA India is connected to Australia’s REA Group, a major digital real estate company backed by News Corp.

Aurum PropTech is a listed Indian proptech company that has been buying and building real estate technology businesses.

In 2025, Aurum acquired PropTiger from REA India in a share-swap deal worth about Rs. 86.45 crore. Through that transaction, REA India received an equity stake in Aurum.

Now, with the Housing.com acquisition, REA India will become a much larger shareholder in Aurum, holding 24.9 percent after the deal.

So REA is not fully leaving India’s proptech story. It is changing its role from direct owner of Housing.com and PropTiger to a large shareholder in Aurum PropTech.

Why Aurum wants Housing.com

Housing.com gives Aurum something very valuable – consumer traffic and brand recall.

Housing.com reportedly has more than 58 million average monthly visits and over 12 million monthly active users. That is a strong top-of-the-funnel asset in real estate.

In simple words, many people start their property journey by searching online. If Aurum owns Housing.com, it gets access to a large pool of buyers, tenants, developers and brokers.

Aurum can then connect these users to its other businesses, including rentals, brokerage, home loans, property management, data tools and transaction services.

Why PropTiger matters in this puzzle

PropTiger is more transaction-focused than Housing.com.

Housing.com helps users discover properties. PropTiger helps in guided home buying, especially in new homes and developer-led sales. When Aurum acquired PropTiger earlier, it added a more direct transaction layer to its ecosystem.

Now, with Housing.com and PropTiger together, Aurum can connect discovery with transaction.

For example, a buyer may search for a flat on Housing.com, speak to a sales adviser through PropTiger, compare options, arrange a home loan and move closer to purchase within Aurum’s wider ecosystem.

That is the real business logic behind the deal.

What Aurum is trying to build

Aurum is talking about an AI-native real estate operating system. That may sound heavy, but the idea is practical.

Real estate has many disconnected parts. Buyers search on one platform, speak to brokers elsewhere, check loans separately, rent through another service and manage paperwork offline.

Aurum wants to connect more of this journey digitally.

Its ecosystem already includes brands and platforms such as NestAway, HelloWorld, Sell.Do, Aurum Analytica, TheHouseMonk and now PropTiger and Housing.com.

With Housing.com in the mix, Aurum gets a large consumer marketplace. With PropTiger, it gets sales and transaction depth. With its other platforms, it can cover rentals, property management, analytics and developer tools.

How REA India benefits

REA India gets a larger stake in Aurum instead of continuing to hold Housing.com separately.

This gives REA exposure to a broader Indian proptech platform rather than only one or two operating businesses. If Aurum succeeds in combining these assets well, REA benefits as a major shareholder.

It also aligns the interests of both sides. Aurum gets Housing.com, and REA gets a stronger equity position in the combined platform.

What this means for users

For home buyers and tenants, nothing may change immediately. Housing.com will likely continue as a property search platform.

Over time, users may see deeper integration with home loans, brokerage, rentals, digital paperwork, property management and AI-driven recommendations.

For example, a user searching for homes may get better property matches, local price insights, financing options or verified transaction support.

But the quality of that experience will depend on execution. Real estate users care about one thing more than fancy technology – trustworthy listings and smooth transactions.

Competitors

Housing.com competes with 99acres, Magicbricks, NoBroker, Square Yards and several local broker-led platforms.

99acres and Magicbricks are strong in listings and brand recall. NoBroker has built its identity around direct owner-to-tenant and owner-to-buyer connections. Square Yards is strong in transaction-led real estate services.

Aurum’s advantage after this deal is breadth. It can combine discovery, sales, rentals, loans and property management. But it will still need to fight hard on listing quality, broker trust, user experience and local market depth.

Challenges ahead

The deal looks strong on paper, but integration will be hard.

Aurum will need to bring together different teams, products, data systems and customer journeys. Housing.com has its own brand and operating style. PropTiger has a different transaction-led model. NestAway and HelloWorld focus more on rentals and managed living.

If Aurum connects them well, it can create a powerful platform. If the integration feels forced, users may not notice much benefit.

Another challenge is real estate trust. Online platforms often struggle with duplicate listings, outdated prices, fake photos and broker spam. Solving that will matter more than any AI branding.

Conclusion – Key takeaways

Aurum PropTech’s Rs. 458 crore acquisition of Locon Solutions, the owner of Housing.com, is a major proptech consolidation move.

The deal follows Aurum’s earlier acquisition of PropTiger from REA India. After this transaction, REA India will hold 24.9 percent in Aurum PropTech, making it a large shareholder in the combined ecosystem.

The relationship is now clearer – REA India is transferring Housing.com and previously transferred PropTiger to Aurum, while becoming a bigger shareholder in Aurum. Aurum, in turn, is trying to build a full-stack real estate technology platform covering property discovery, transactions, rentals, financing and management.

Facts Input- AP, Housing

Square Yards has become one of India’s newest unicorns after raising Rs. 900 crore through a mix of debt and equity. The funding round was anchored by EAAA Alternatives, with participation from global corporate credit manager Muzinich & Co., according to reports.

The Gurugram-based company works in real estate, mortgages, rentals, property management, interiors and real estate technology. In simple terms, it is trying to bring many parts of the home-buying journey under one roof. This funding is also important because Square Yards is preparing for an IPO. A unicorn tag can improve visibility, but the real test will be whether the company can keep growing profitably in India’s complex property market.

Square Yards Funding And Unicorn Status

Square Yards raised Rs. 900 crore, or about $95 million, in its latest round. The fresh funding pushed the company’s valuation above $1 billion, making it a unicorn. A unicorn is a privately held startup valued at $1 billion or more. It does not mean the company is already listed on the stock market. It simply means investors have valued it at that level during a funding round.

This latest round follows Square Yards’ earlier $35 million funding in November 2025, when it was valued at around $900 million. The company is also reportedly preparing for a Rs. 2,000 crore IPO.

As per reports, Square Yards may also raise another $50-60 million in the next quarter at a possible valuation of $1.6 billion.

Founders And Company Background

Square Yards was founded in 2014 by Tanuj Shori and Kanika Gupta Shori. Tanuj Shori is the Founder and CEO of the company. The company started with real estate sales and focused strongly on residential property. Over time, it expanded into mortgages, rentals, property management, interiors and real estate software.

Today, Square Yards operates through several connected brands. Urban Money focuses on secured loans and mortgages. Azuro works in rentals and property management. Interior Company handles home interiors and modular furnishing. PropVR provides virtual and 3D property experiences.

That is why Square Yards is not only a property listing website. It is closer to an integrated real estate services platform.

How Square Yards Works

To understand Square Yards, think about a person who wants to buy a home in Noida, Pune or Bengaluru. That buyer may first need to compare projects, check prices, speak to developers, understand legal papers, apply for a home loan, choose interiors and maybe later rent out the property. Usually, these steps involve different agents, banks, websites and service providers.

Square Yards tries to connect these steps. It helps customers discover properties, speak with sales teams, arrange loans through Urban Money, and later use related services like interiors or property management.

For developers, Square Yards acts as a sales and distribution partner. For banks and NBFCs, it can bring mortgage customers. For buyers, it offers guided property search and transaction support.

This model works well if the company can build trust. Real estate is a high-value purchase, and buyers need clarity more than flashy advertising.

Working Principles Behind The Business

Square Yards’ business runs on four broad principles.

1. First, it uses an offline plus online model. Real estate is not like ordering food or booking a cab. Buyers often want human help before making a decision. So, the company combines digital discovery with sales advisors.
2. Second, it builds around the full property journey. Instead of only earning from one property sale, Square Yards can also earn through loans, rentals, interiors and management services.
3. Third, it uses data and technology. Tools such as property valuation, title search and virtual property experiences can make the buying process more informed.
4. Fourth, it works in a fragmented market. India’s real estate sector has many brokers, local agents and developers. A platform that can organise supply, financing and services may have room to grow.

Why Investors Are Interested

Investors appear to be looking at Square Yards as a profitable and scalable company in a large market. Economic Times reported that the company posted Rs. 2,086 crore revenue in FY26, up 48 percent year-on-year. Its EBITDA rose to Rs. 176 crore.

EBITDA is a simple way to look at operating profitability before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. It is not the same as net profit, but it gives a sense of whether the main business is becoming stronger.

Urban Money is also a major part of the story. The mortgage arm reportedly facilitated loan disbursals of Rs. 87,831 crore in FY26 and works with more than 150 banks and NBFCs. That gives Square Yards a fintech angle, not just a property angle. In a country where home loans are a major part of property buying, this can become a strong growth driver.

Competitors In The Market

Square Yards competes with different companies in different parts of its business.

In property discovery, its competitors include 99acres, Magicbricks, Housing.com and NoBroker. In real estate advisory and brokerage, it competes with local brokers, developer sales teams and organized players such as Anarock.

In home loans, Urban Money competes with banks, NBFCs, BankBazaar, Paisabazaar and other digital lending marketplaces. In interiors, Interior Company competes with Livspace, HomeLane and local interior firms.

This makes Square Yards’ market opportunity large, but also difficult. The company has to perform well across multiple businesses, not just one.

What Other Unicorns Are In 2026

Square Yards is being counted among India’s new unicorns of 2026. Before it, reports listed companies such as Juspay, Neysa, KreditBee, Skyroot Aerospace and Sarvam AI among the startups that entered the unicorn club this year.

Juspay became the first Indian unicorn of 2026 after a funding round valued it at around $1.2 billion. Neysa entered the club in the AI cloud infrastructure space. KreditBee became a unicorn in digital lending. Skyroot Aerospace became India’s first spacetech unicorn. Sarvam AI joined the list after raising $234 million at a $1.5 billion valuation.

This list shows an interesting shift. India’s unicorns are no longer coming only from food delivery, ecommerce or consumer apps. In 2026, the action is spread across fintech, AI, space technology and real estate.

Other well-known Indian unicorns from earlier years include PhonePe, Razorpay, CRED, Groww, Zerodha, Lenskart, Meesho, OfBusiness and PhysicsWallah.

What This Means For India’s Startup Market

Square Yards becoming a unicorn is a positive sign for the proptech sector. Real estate is one of India’s largest markets, but it has always been difficult to organize. If Square Yards can simplify buying, loans, rentals and property services, it can build a strong position before going public. But the IPO market will ask harder questions than private investors. Public market investors will look closely at margins, cash flow, governance and long-term growth.

For customers, the bigger hope is simple. A more organized real estate platform can reduce confusion, improve transparency and make property decisions less stressful.

Conclusion With Key Takeaways

Square Yards’ Rs. 900 crore funding round has pushed it into the unicorn club and given it fresh strength ahead of its planned IPO. The company’s biggest advantage is its full-stack model across property sales, mortgages, rentals, interiors and real estate technology.

Key takeaways

1. Square Yards has raised Rs. 900 crore through a mix of debt and equity.
2. The round was anchored by EAAA Alternatives, with participation from Muzinich & Co.
3. The company is now valued above $1 billion, making it a unicorn.
4. Square Yards was founded in 2014 by Tanuj Shori and Kanika Gupta Shori.
5. Its key businesses include real estate transactions, Urban Money, Azuro, Interior Company and PropVR.
6. Other Indian unicorns of 2026 include Juspay, Neysa, KreditBee, Skyroot Aerospace and Sarvam AI.

The company’s next big test will be IPO readiness, profitability and customer trust.

Facts Input- ET