By: Ravi Sinha
Track2Realty Exclusive: The way group buying in real estate works is simple. Take GrOffr.com for instance. This is an online and offline integrated platform which showcases property. It uses social media networks to let buyers know about possible good deals, and leaving it to them to do some viral marketing. Once a large group of buyers is thus formed, the group buying site then introduces it to the network of dealers and developers and helps negotiate a suitable discount.
Since, the developer doesn’t have to pay for the marketing, they are willing to pay such companies a transaction fee which is a percentage of the total value of the deal. For the buyers, it offers the best rates at no fee, thus making it a win-win proposition for all involved.
The developers also benefit by getting substantial cash flow, giving them a good amount of working capital. “In today’s real estate scenario, bulk buying could be the answer to the market slump and the long awaited cash flow. Sometimes, the discount size is not to be sneered at. Discounts on group buying vary from 5-30 per cent, the average divergence from market rate being 25-30 per cent,” says a property analyst.
The buyers can suggest a deal in ‘Start Your Group’ section. After starting a deal of their own choice, they can combine like-minded people to form a group. On forming a group, GrOffr’s team steps in and negotiates the best deal with the developers on the buyers’ behalf. Also, new developments in the real estate sector are mentioned in the blog of such group buying sites, as and when they arrive.
Interestingly, many of such online group buying platforms doesn’t charge any membership or brokerage fees, and it also guarantees assured gifts—ranging from a sandwich toaster to an iPad-on each home purchase. If this is not enough, they also shell out a part of the profit if a person introduced by you purchases the property.
……to be continued
