Social networking organizing the real estate market in India

Date : Jun 2, 2015

The real estate market is a highly collaborative one. Sharing of information with sheer competence and agility is one of the core paradigms in realty business. Extensive collaboration among developers and brokers as well as other stakeholders such asFINANCING organization is crucial in real estate sector. As per estimates, more than 90% of all real estate deals in India, comprising both primary and secondary, are actualized by real estate brokers.

Hence, there is a strong need for these players to communicate and collaborate with each other to close deals—both at a developer-to-broker and broker-to-broker level. With the advent of various social media platforms, the real estate businesses are going through a fundamental transformation. Market downturn has in fact, rendered an upward push to players in the market, actuating their emergence.

The realty market is fragmented. Primary players in the market, the developers and brokers lack the steady platform to coordinate. Lack of communication channels was a great hindrance to smooth business in this market. Collaborations were made through the best available channels such as voice calls over phones, physical meetings and personal contacts.

The pace of business transaction was slow and it took time to close a deal. The emergence of Web 2.0 platforms enabled the formation of a comprehensive collaborative platform that facilitated fast communication and quick business transactions. Social networking platforms offer the facility to create groups and communities beyond the network of personal reach. For the first time in the market, brokers and dealers could reach out for connections beyond their network and close deals faster. They could connect to reach out for their counterparts in far off locations within no time and exchange handy information over the internet.

Earlier, until the rise of mobile devices, agility in the market was not rendered, as the network remained limited within only those brokers who were handy with computers or laptops. But, smart phones and other such mobile devices induced fastidious communication through instant chat facilities. Chat application such as WhatsApp became the primary platform for communication in the realty market.
An instantaneous nature of information exchange is the top advantage offered by web platforms. Live exchange of communication is possible through chat facilities. These platforms facilitate group chat where all the stakeholders involved in a deal could participate. The platforms has rendered transparency in business transactions and hence the market. Some of the amenities offered by technology proffered a boost in the market.

Live streaming of videos and real time sharing is one of such facilities. Now, real estate dealers can record live videos and or click photographs of a property and share it via online channels. This can be leveraged by customers as well as other dealers in the network. The actual progress of a property, site development and building can be known directly through digital channels. In fact, visual tours of a site are possible via these channels and it has already hit the market.

Currently, only in Gurgaon, there are more than 3,000 active brokers using WhatsApp exclusively. Real-time chat applications such as WeChat, Viber and Hike are also being utilized by brokers actively. Realty groups Social Medias and online chat platforms are emerging as active business blocks of real estate market, being the playground for brokers and realtors. These groups have empowered the broker community tremendously to reach out to other brokers and to close deals faster.

It is estimated that currently about 80% of all real estate deals are closed through communications made through these groups. However, now the brokers are facing a new problem - The Issue of Plenty. Many of these groups have more than 100 listings posted every day. This multiplied by the number of groups in which the broker is a member, becomes a massive set of information, which is difficult to consume and manage.

The problem of leveraging massive data is a emerging in the domain of real estate. In addition to this, lack of a predefined format to share info and an efficient search capability on these platforms is emerging as the major hurdle to track postings in these channels.

Shortcomings of these platforms have lead to a requirement of innovations to aid proper functioning of the business. Platforms dedicated inclusively to real estate brokers have become a necessity in the realty market. Platforms that areCOMPARABLE to broker exchange are a need of the time for sharing of comprehensive sets of information. Such channels should also offer a platform to coordinate with fellow brokers and form networks with other realtors.

Information sharing in these platforms must follow a strict pattern forming a concrete system for data management. The information should be in a searchable format that makes it easy for users to stay up to date without being bogged down by the information flow. Also, the platform must be cross device and user friendly. Such platform will lead the real estate market to organize. It would be gradual but certain. Such media will play the important part in not only dissipating information but also in helping brokers, developers and realtors to collaborate.
(About the author: The article has been written by Pallav Pandey, CEO, BroEx.)

Source And Courtsery By :- http://www.in.techradar.com/news/internet/Social-networking-organizing-the-real-estate-market-in-India/articleshow/47500002.cms