‘Virtual realty’: a booming market in online sales
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Builders use websites mostly to target non-resident Keralites abroad or in other States.
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As web sites devoted to verticals such as matrimony and automobiles gain a foothold, property too have found pieces of valuable real estate in the cyber world.
Major builders as well as others are listed on quite a few web sites.
The Internet is gaining popularity and the real estate sector too has benefited from the information revolution.
This is a medium through which one can reach millions of people, says Najeeb Zakaria, president of the Kochi branch of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India.
He sees the web as a marketing medium to target Keralites in the U.S., Europe or the Gulf and in other Indian States. With pictures and location maps being uploaded, the sites becomes all the more relevant.
Search results
An Internet search for built-up properties or land in Kerala yields a number of results.
Taking advantage of the web boom, many have take up Internet marketing of property.
The builders too devise their marketing plans after getting feedback from various sites on which they advertise.
It is definitely one of the most cost-effective media that covers the target audience very well, Mr. Zakaria says.
But the reliability of the sites needs to be checked. One should do some initial verification before getting business done through the web sites.
The web site owners need to build up an image for transparent dealings.
P.R. Anish, managing partner of swapnakoodu.com, says that the site takes no brokerage on dealings. “We give all the information and the contact person’s details on the site.
The buyer and seller do the talking. We are only a medium to facilitate their coming together,” he adds.
Launched about two months ago, the web site in Malayalam records trends in housing and architecture, comments on Vaastu and local rules and regulations.
Reaching out
Prashant Pillai, promoter of Pik (Properties in Kerala) group, believes that reaching out to the clients is a more intelligent way of marketing. However, one has to be consistent in managing the web site and should satisfy the clients to earn their trust.
Over a year ago, there were a number of web sites promoting properties, but now only a few of them survive, he adds.
Since the Internet in much more used now, the possibilities are immense, he says. “We provide service to the customers by providing more details about the land or building that they have seen on the web site by making our own enquiries,” he says.
Since the customer is not physically present here, such information becomes valuable.
SHYAMA RAJAGOPAL
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