MUMBAI: Real estate brands love a big number. Century 21 has arrived in India with several. The world’s largest real estate franchise is preparing to enter the country, bringing a global network of approximately 15,000 offices and more than 400,000 real estate professionals to one of the planet’s largest and fastest-growing property markets, and it has done so with a name Indian households already trust: cricket legend, former India head coach and broadcaster Ravi Shastri, now signed on as brand ambassador.
The timing is deliberate. India’s real estate sector is projected to reach $5.8 trillion by 2047, lifting its contribution to GDP from 7.3 per cent to 15.5 per cent, a shift that turns property from a domestic asset class into a genuine economic pillar. Century 21 is betting that entering now, rather than after the market matures, gives it first-mover advantage in a country where global real estate brands have historically struggled to gain traction.
The India operation will link local buyers and investors to Century 21’s international network, which currently spans 82 countries and territories. Clients will be able to work with professionals on the ground in India while tapping international expertise and property opportunities across Century 21’s global markets, and the launch cuts both ways, giving the group’s existing international client base a fresh point of access into India’s property market too. Underpinning all of it is ConnectR, Century 21’s proprietary AI-driven CRM and sales transaction platform, which connects offices and agents across markets in real time, letting them access inventory and manage transactions network-wide rather than market by market.
Peter Matthews, group CEO of Century 21 UAE and India, called India a natural next market, combining the scale of a major domestic property market with a growing appetite for international real estate investment. He pointed to Shastri’s own international outlook, built over a career that has taken him across India and around the world, as a natural fit for a brand built on connecting local clients to global opportunity.
Shastri’s résumé does the heavy lifting on credibility. He represented India in 80 Tests and 150 One Day Internationals, was part of the 1983 World Cup winning squad, and played a leading role in the 1985 World Championship of Cricket victory. He served as head coach of the national team from 2017 to 2021, overseeing consecutive Test series wins in Australia, and remains a prominent international broadcaster with a presence across Australia, England, South Africa and the Gulf. That is recognition few brand ambassadors can match, and it travels well beyond India’s borders, reaching Indian communities abroad too. As brand ambassador, Shastri will engage with buyers, investors, developers and the wider real estate community.
Shastri himself framed the move as a natural extension of a personal interest. He described real estate as always having been a passion, said Century 21’s international reach was a big part of what drew him to the partnership, and called India an exciting market with enormous potential as he looks forward to helping connect Indian clients with opportunities around the world.
The scale behind the brand is considerable. Century 21’s more than 400,000 independent sales professionals operate across approximately 15,000 offices in 82 countries and territories, with particularly deep roots in China, where the network runs 10,000 offices and 150,000 agents, alongside more than 1,000 offices in Japan, 1,200 in France and over 3,500 in the United States. Century 21 Real Estate LLC operates within Compass International Holdings, a global real estate services company, giving the India entry institutional weight behind the star power.
