The construction market in India is complex. Much of it falls in the unorganised sector where there are complications—traditional contract workers struggle to execute projects due to antiquated designs, there are a number of delivery obstacles and it continues to be plagued by struggles like labour shortages and payment delays.
“In fact, a sizeable portion of the industry continues to function in the same manner, hiring independent contractors and dealing with numerous problems when projects are being built,” says Abhijith R Priyan, CEO, buildAhome.
Priyan set out on a path to correct some of the issues in this sector in 2016. Having seen his father battle these obstacles in his own journey, he envisioned creating an ecosystem, replete with the right regulation and a systematic approach to home construction.
“Dream home construction is an emotional journey that should be memorable rather than burdensome,” says Priyan. Since 2016, buildAhome has helped turn over 750 homes go from blueprint to reality, besides setting up an experience centre in Bengaluru.
It is now betting big on green home construction which according to Priyan is the next big thing.
“By priotitising sustainable construction, we strive to address the negative impact of the industry on the envrionment particularly in terms of carbon emissions and pollution,” he says.
The process of building these homes involves the use of environmentally friendly materials, energy-efficient appliances, and innovative design solutions that reduce the home’s overall impact on the environment, he explains. Just over 25% of buildAhome’s projects are green homes, according to Priyan.
Changing the status quo
buildAhome takes accountability right from construction of the house. “By taking on complete ownership of the construction process, we have been able to eliminate the risks and uncertainties that come with working through middlemen,” says Priyan.
It was able to do this by providing advanced payments to creditors, vendors, and laborers, ensuring that each project received the appropriate funding, says Priyan. “This strategy allowed us to purchase goods directly from the source at more favorable prices,” he explains.
The firm also gives a customer the opportunity to customise packages based on their requirements. These are made available to them in two full-service packages ranging from Rs 1470/sq ft to Rs 2700/sq ft. They can also check up on the progress of their construction through the buildAhome app.
Besides these things, also has a milestone-based revenue generation for every stage of home construction. “Each customer pays this out to us in phases at the completion of every milestone in their construction journey. There is no commission or percentage cost that is associated with home construction,” says Priyan.
“Right now, we have constructions ongoing across 18 cities in South India including Bengaluru, Mysore and Chennai,” he tells YourStory.
People weren’t always open to working with buildAhome. “Since this is a largely unorganized market, getting all the right workforces under one roof, dealing with the right cost of raw materials to provide the lowest prices in the market, without lowering our standards on quality was also a challenge,” he adds.
However, it was able to overcome these obstacles. It has completed nearly completed 300 projects till date, with over 450 ongoing projects and considers JSW Homes, 100Pillars Construction and Brick&Bolt as rivals.
According to Priyan, the company has been profitable since inception and has been growing at 100% year-on-year, having generated over Rs 60 crore in revenue in the last fiscal year. “In FY 22-23 we have already closed over Rs 120 crore,” he adds.
At the moment, buildAhome is developing fresh technology to design homes. “Use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) has already started gaining traction among our customers and we will continue to invest and innovate more in that field,” Priyan adds.
“We cater to everyone who dreams of building a house for themselves,” he says.
