Comments
Plan to go househunting with your spouse at the other end of the city after a hard week at work? Well, the exercise may not be as tedious as it used to be, thanks to an initiative to help buyers make an informed choice.
Prospective home buyers across Maharashtra will soon be able to use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to zero in on an area of their liking, view under-construction projects, scrutinise the locality and its amenities, and shortlist a building before physically visiting the site to negotiate a price.
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) is uploading all registered projects across the State on an online map to help users make informed decisions.
“The (over 16,000) under-construction projects across Maharashtra will be live on the map in the next one month,” MahaRERA Chairman Gautam Chatterjee told BusinessLine .
Details at a glance
The user will have access to details such as the number of floors, the level of completion, floor maps, the developer’s credibility, and even the number of bookings that have been made.
“There will be all the details minus the pricing information,” he added.
Critical information such as proximity to hospitals, schools, banks, malls, convenience stores, restaurants, recreation centres and availability of public transport will also be part of the feature.
All RERA-registered projects have to update information on the construction status every quarter. Each building, standalone or part of a project, has 11 stages till completion. “All these details will be available on the online map,” Chatterjee said.
“The move is aimed at helping buyers to make informed choices. You don’t have to depend on someone to make a decision,” he added.
Brokers, excuse
In many cases, it will also do away with the need for brokers, who charge a commission from buyers for introducing projects and providing details about them.
“Some brokers, who used to take consumers for a ride will not be able to do so as buyers will be able to cross-check all the information online,” said Pankaj Kapoor, founder and Managing Director of real estate consultancy Liases Foras.
“Certain businesses may be impacted in the short term, but when the industry grows and consumer confidence improves, everyone will grow,” Kapoor said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.