IIM Bangalore (IIMB) through its CRERI (Real Estate Research Initiative) is launching a pilot project to enhance transparency in property pricing in Bangalore.

To alleviate a key source of consumer anxiety, IIMB CRERI will launch a crowd sourcing portal www.iboughtproperty.com.

“Using the crowd sourcing approach, we are seeking to go directly to the public for this information rather than rely on sources based on builder inputs. We also plan to collect and validate this information using standard methods before providing it back to the consumers as a service,” said an IIMB CRERI release.

Methodology

The method to be used is to ask people who have bought or sold properties in recent years. They can enter what they paid or received after providing some basic details about the property. No personal information will be collected and the users will remain totally anonymous. The whole process should take not more than two minutes. IIMB set up CRERI in 2012 to develop scientific research and data on the Indian real estate sector.

Public policy domain

The IIMB CRERI release further said that besides de-stressing consumer experience and providing accurate benchmark, it expects several uses for this data in public policy domain. “Policymakers can use this data to study the effects of registration charges and stamp duty rates on disclosed property prices and the impact of the parallel economy in this sector,” the press release said.

Accurate market values will also make it easier for capital to flow into the real estate sector and help develop financial market products such as REITs, it added.