How Are Real Estate Portals LEVERGING ON TECHNOLOGY Date:   Monday , April 01, 2013 IndiaProperty.com, a division of Consim Info Pvt. Ltd.,(formerly Bharat Matrimony) is a Property and Real Estate Site that allows users to Buy, Sell and Rent properties anywhere in India. Founded in 2005 the company is headquartered in Chennai. Over the past decade, use of technology has redefined and revolutionized almost all the conventional human practices. From the age old practice of consulting the brokers, adapting the digital media has proved to be a boon in easing a house hunter’s life. Over 124 million Indians are logged on to internet on desktop or tablet devices, out of which 5.2 million access the property portals. Entering the real estate market to buy a new home can be overwhelming, confusing and time-consuming for an average home buyer. But online real estate websites have simplified what can be a long, complex process and are today helping thousands find their dream homes across India every day. This is why the real estate sites are among the most popular online destinations on the web. The task is to overcome the tedious and boring task of going from one developer's office to another, and going through the trauma of marketing experts praising their product. Now via one same link a customer can search for properties from multiple developers, at his desired location falling in his budget, while he sips his morning coffee. Not only can he visualise himself living in the space via means of unit plans and hi-tech tools like walkthroughs, he can also compare various properties that he shortlists at the same time. He can watch property videos, location videos, market trends, interior tips along with the developer’s report card by reading reviews. Digital media is not only to ease the buying process, but it has also amplified the personalization of the product at various levels. Offering myriad home layout and composition possibilities for the same housing unit was unthinkable in past, especially for large housing projects which were primarily based on economy of scale. In current scenario when real estate has become a widely popular investment product and people are not only investing in their home towns, but in any potential city throughout India. With advent of online real estate portals investors can keep a track of their investment values online similar to other trading commodities like stocks. With a click they can know how the rental and capital values are doing in their market. Property buyers are mostly familiar with the popular brand names and that is how mostly they start their online search. But real estate search portals help them educate about all the category of developers and projects available in the market. An online portal cannot sustain by just giving information about properties and generating more leads. It is critical to provide a good customer service to convert the lead into an actual sale. In fact by leaving basic details regarding the type of property one is looking for, portals executives put in effort to help find you your dream home. Nowadays buyers have started searching for homes on the go with their smart phones and tablets. Almost all property portals have their free apps available with outstanding and competitive features. IndiaProperty's mobile app has 'Visual Search' powered by Augmented Reality. Just point your phone in a specific direction and the app will display properties available in that direction, within the radius set by the user. It is a simple, quick and an effective way to look out for properties near your location especially when you are new to a place. It also displays prices along with the distance of the property from the user. A recent survey by IMRB has revealed that internet users in rural India are consistently increasing, with 38 million users from rural parts alone. Fun of Technology is that it is full of surprises. In future, we can expect everything from it which is beyond our imagination. Be it a virtual experience of the house you are planning to buy or a house on moon you never know. Talking about the near future, online portals will continue to streamline the buying and other aspects of the construction industry. Like insurance, one can expect online sale of houses, and also online registration. In addition, online profiling of localities with handy details like population, age group, owners name, recent sales, schools in the vicinity. All and all real estate portals have reduced the manual labour required for property search and has given way to intelligent and informed buying decisions. With advancement in technology, internet has been made accessible to the masses and thereby internet based shopping popular and trust worthy.