By: Ravi Sinha
Track2Realty Exclusive: Group buying is emerging as a win-win situation for both the buyers and the developers.Track2Realty talks to all the concerned parties in the deal to find that while it saves the marketing cost of the developers and increases the bargain of the buyers, in no way it cuts the role of the intermediaries as well, thus making it the most lucrative marketing model for all in the future.
A Russian proverb advises us not to buy a house, but the neighbourhood. How about buying aneighbourhood that too with the collective bargaining power of the community?
Welcome to the world of Group Buying. Group-buying is a win-win for the buyers and the developers, and particularly the present market conditions suggest this is going to be the future of realty transaction.
Till some years ago it was impossible to be choosy about who lived with you in the same housing society. Such a privilege was available only to the elite few who were buying a super luxury “only by invitation” kind of condominiums.
However, thanks to the internet and the group buying model, today when think of buying a home, you could actually create your own dream neighbourhood.
Rakesh Thapliyal, a 28-year-old Pune-based software engineer vouches for this. In early 2011 he had little hope of bargaining a rebate when he was looking for a house. “There is a huge demand for houses and the developers are very rigid about offering discounts in Pune,” he says.
Then a close friend suggested contacting one of the group buying companies in the city. “Ibought a 1,000 sq ft house through such a company and got a discount of Rs 6 lakh on it,” he adds. In the given deal some 50-60 other members bagged a similar discount in the same deal.
The concept of group buying model is not new, and has been applied in different industries, from cars to baby merchandise to pet care products. Now, the trend is catching on in the real estate sector, with sites such as Gemideals.com GrOffr.com as well as broking firms such as Agni offering group deals on real estate projects in India.
….to be continued
