The Covid-19 pandemic shook up the real estate sector at a moment when it was expecting a turnaround. A nationwide lockdown took the wind out of its sails and created a crisis, never witnessed before.
The realty sector alarmed at this sudden invasion of an invisible specter explored remote business possibilities riding on the prowess of technology and migrated to digital platforms. The outcome was a runaway success. Real estate developers registered phenomenal sales during the entire lockdown, even more than their wild expectations, and triggered the eruption of a new tech ecosystem.
Taking cues from the staggering potential of digital real estate platforms and noting their credibility from positive reactions of homebuyers, the Government of India launched two online real estate platforms- CREDAI Awaas App and NAREDCO’s online portal HousingforAll.com, to market residential properties digitally.
The CREDAI Awaas App is a digital gateway and India’s largest online platform for residential projects discovery for millions of homebuyers around the world. The platform also aims to build a connection for customers with certified real estate developers whose RERA-registered properties will be displayed on the app.
On the other hand, NAREDCO’s online portal HousingforAll.com is an eCommerce housing portal where homebuyers across the world can explore and purchase ready-to-move homes. The app aims to facilitate transparent home buying in India of RERA registered projects and bring accountability and efficiency in the home-buying process.
The strategic launch of these two apps by the government is a big push to the property sector’s intention to go fully digital.
The lockdown gave the real estate sector the opportunity to conceive and have its first brush with selling homes digitally. Online interactions, online bookings and digitally secure payments helped the real estate sector to sail through the difficult time smoothly.
The use of AI-backed chatbots on online real estate platforms and use of digital interaction channels to handle routine customer inquiries, banking on webinars & E-brochures to tap potential homebuyers and investors, treating homebuyers to virtual tours and 3D walkthroughs to map every inch of the property and facilitating property transactions through online payment gateways, realtors have made homebuying convenient, comfortable and hassle-free for customers.
The extraordinary success of this digital shift can be attributed to the mind-blowing online property booking figures. Many top real estate developers quip that this transition was a big revelation for the real estate sector on the amount of potential digital platforms hold.
The autonomy of online property visits by homebuyers, paperless property transactions with the help of digital transaction tools and the credibility of Online Real Estate Platforms that are seen in the overwhelming response of homebuyers, has caught the eyes of the government too; and has led to the unveiling of two online real estate apps.
The support of the government towards this digital move is a testament to the fact that the real estate sector is charting the right path to becoming a transparent and credible sector. Real estate experts say that with the launch of these apps, homebuyers will be more confident in Shopping Homes Digitally.
