From flash sales of houses to integrating government-approved master plans with maps for better property searches, real estate portals are going all out to increase convenience for property seekers and boost buyer sentiment in a dull market.
99acres.com, along with Amura Marketing Technologies, is organising an ‘Indian Realty Flash Sale’ for property buyers from June 26 to 28, with pre-negotiated deals from developers. Every property comes with a different offer that will be revealed on the first day of the sale along with a downloadable coupon that will carry a unique ID and validity period. The customer can redeem the coupon at the time of booking his home. Says Narasimha Jayakumar, Chief Business Officer, 99acres.com: “The aim is to drive urgency among those looking to buy a house. The coupons offer items like a second parking spot to furnishings etc. We are targeting buyers in the late 20s to early 40s and expecting transactions worth ₹1,500 crore.” He added that this might become a bi-annual exercise, and a home finance developer is likely to be roped in. Tata Housing, which is participating in this sale, looks at it as an opportunity to capture the NRI buyer. “We are planning an exclusive launch for a few projects in Mumbai and Chennai,” confirmed Brotin Banerjee, Managing Director & CEO of Tata Housing Development Company.
PropTiger had a similar sale last year during Diwali that saw a fairly good response. “Since a house, unlike a shoe or a watch, is not a standardised product, the consumer will not buy a flat just because it is discounted. However, if consumers are responding to such flash sales, it is good for the ecosystem,” says Dhruv Agarwala, CEO, PropTiger.com.
PropTiger might look at a similar sale this year. It has recently launched an offering called ‘City Master Plan’ that merges government-approved master plans of cities with geographical maps and project plans listed on the portal. This feature is available for Noida, Bengaluru and Pune, and will be extended to others soon. Another portal, CommonFloor.com, is looking to shortly launch an offering called ‘Rich Neighbourhood Pages’ packed with photos, videos and factual content on its website. “With this feature, a property seeker will be able to visualise his life in the neighbourhood,” says Sumit Jain, CEO of the portal, adding that the portal will invest in visualisation products.