Online portals have impacted agents’ business especially in the lower range. Their traditional clients have moved away,”said J. Sohail Sarooshi, vice-president of the Chennai Real Estate Agents Association. The association, which has 60 members, was formed as an attempt to bring standardized and fair conduct norms into the industry, which is largely unregulated. For a sale, agents get a 3-4% commission on the value of the sale, and for a rental deal, they get 15 -30 days’ rent as commission.
Real estate agents have so far thrived on information,” said Naresh Malkani, chief executive officer of indiaproperties.com. “Now, the Internet provides the information.
We definitely have seen the advanced Internet user take advantage of the free online classifieds platform as an additional option. By interacting directly with other individuals, they have able to reduce lead time and costs”, said Satya Prabhakar, chief executive officer of Sulekha.com, a portal that also lists properties. “It still may be a good idea to supplement this with the professional advice of local real estate agents
According to an estimate by indiaproperties.com, in cities covered by online portals, 40% of the total market, in terms of property inventory, is listed on Internet sites. In the last six months alone, Malkani said, there has been a 120% increase in listings. And, property for a monthly rent of between Rs5,000 and Rs20,000, the traditional bread and butter for letting agents, constitutes one-third of total listings on his website.
An inclination towards the online marketing and advertising phenomenon. I read this articel at livemint.com
