Consumers cannot just approach real estate portals and treat these like one-stop shops. It is essential to carry out appropriate research before making any decision to buy or rent property. Consumers are on their own in the property market because there is no central authority to regulate the builders or any defined set of guidelines for the real estate industry. Do due diligence before making any decision.
Indiaproperty.com
This portal is managed by BharatMatrimony Enterprise, which also manages Bharatmatrimony.com, a popular marriage portal. The website lists around 250,000 properties and says it gets 2.5 million visitors every month. The website is managed by a team of about 40 people and has offices in nine cities in India.
Features:
1) The website’s home page prominently displays various search tools for buyers, sellers and those looking to rent.
2) Unlike other websites, broker and builder advertisements don’t overwhelm the home page and the portal is easy to navigate.
3) The website usually sends three reminders to the advertisers to update their listings. Failure to respond to the reminders results in the entry being removed from the website.
Property search tools:
1) The property search tool isn’t very comprehensive, but allows searches for a paying guest accommodation or a partner—a unique feature when compared with other real estate portals.
2) In addition to the basics, the individual listings page also provides a detailed map of the area in which the property is located, as well as the floor plan, but in several instances, the map is basic and not very informative. The portal allows for a virtual tour of select properties.
Value add-ons:
1) The only prominent research tool on the website is the home loan section for which it partners with another of the group’s vertical portals, Loanwala.com.
2) The individual listings page provides calculators, which can give one an idea of affordability and equated monthly instalment payments.
3) The Propertybytes blog of this website has articles on property law, city and property rate trends, a vaastu shastra guide and architecture and design information.
The cost:
Indiaproperty allows a free listing for the first month. After the month is over, a single listing also comes at no fee, but multiple property listings are charged Rs 350 per entry for a three-month period.
Other features:
1) The website is easy to navigate.
2) Search for paying guest accommodation available.
3) You can search for a home loan on this portal, which also has an EMI calculator.
4) A single listing is available free of charge for a month.
99acres.com
This website is run by Info Edge (India) Ltd, which owns Naukri.com, a job portal, and Jeevansaathi.com, a matrimonial portal. It carries 55,000 property listings from 25 cities and covers more than 100 projects of developers. A team of 100 people manages the website.
Features:
1) The home page of this website is full of advertisements from developers and brokers.
2) The property search option for residential and commercial properties is displayed upfront and key projects across nine cities and the list of developers are shown prominently on the home page.
3) You have to navigate the home page of the website to locate research tools related to the real estate sector.