Realtors Turn to Digital Channels to Face the New Challenge

In the face of an unprecedented challenge due to the coronavirus outbreak, real estate developers are using online channels for business. This is a smart move on their part to adapt to the situation as most of the developers are suffering severe setbacks. As a result of the pandemic, property transactions have fallen significantly. As homebuyers can’t visit the sites or sales offices, reputed builders are offering digital tours of the apartments on their portals. They are also using these portals to reply to enquiries and even close their deals.

Project launches as well as sales have fallen by about 42%, which is a major deterioration considering the recovery that the industry was undergoing recently. The shutting down of businesses and firms which are indirectly or directly linked to the sector are also taking a toll on the development of projects. For now, most developers are hesitant to launch any new projects and are waiting to watch what comes next. However, a few esteemed builders have decided to resume business online. Brokers too, are adapting accordingly. In some cases, they closed their deals by providing online tours of the homes via video conferencing.

As the realty sector was starting to revive from the credit crunch and the slowdown in sales, the developers had been hoping to clear a major part of their unsold inventory this festive season. However, the COVD-19 outbreak prevented this from happening and the industry is expected to go back into a liquidity crisis soon unless the situation improves for them.

Certain developers would be providing physical tours with necessary precautions. After solving the buyers’ queries online, they will be providing them with slots to visit the sites so that there is no crowding. Real estate companies in Bangalore have already witnessed a significant increase in the volume of online queries. This indicates that the new method is working and might prevent the sector from a major collapse.

According to experts, in times like this it is important to make the best use of available technology. Innovation, along with related adaptation is the best way to survive in the market now. Many developers already had their own websites and portals with online response teams. This makes it easier for them to switch to the digital platform for solving queries and sealing the deals. It is expected that more developers would follow this path over time and sales would improve gradually.