mumbai until recently real estate portals were used by home buyers to research on floor plans and price of apartments but builders are taking this process to the next level you can now buy a home online with growing internet penetration builders have realised the potential of the online space in selling homes and some have even tasted success mumbaibased lodha group has generated over 100 bookings through its online portal for its new township project palava in navi mumbai we see the online space offering the potential for us to connect with consumers in new ways across the engagement cycle from first contact to providing basic information all the way to bookings and sales says aspokesman of the lodha group earlier this year tata value homes a 100 subsidiary of tata housing sold over 200 apartments across five of its projects in a fourday online campaign it had earlier sold 50 homes online during the google online shopping festival about 7080 of the home search happens online which prompted us to take the next step and offer the option of buying a home online says rajeeb dash head marketing services at tata housing the exercise was targeted at not only the primary local market but also the nri base which is more open to such transactions he adds tata housing has tied up with banks like idbi to facilitate sales of homes online a buyer can narrow down the apartment he wants to buy pay an online booking amount of rs 50000 through credit or debit card and the house is allotted to him the buyer can then complete further payments and formalities online or offline however theres a catch buyers need to think twice before they make such a purchase as the online booking amount is not refundable buying a home is a high involvement decision so it will have to be a mix of online and offline model that said there is a small segment of buyers such as investors and nri buyers who could complete the transaction online says sudhir pai business head at magicbrickscom while online property buying is still at its nascent stage when compared to buying clothes electronics or books real estate companies have seen an uptick in web transactions of late buying a home online has several advantages say builders buyer cannot only see a large number of properties in the market obtain details such as home values and asking price but also search for a home in a specific neighborhood or area of choice a recent study by google india showed that over 50 of real estate buying decisions are influenced by internet research and the phenomenon of researching online for real estate information was not limited to metros but also extended to buyers in tier2 cities nowadays builders are more transparent and offer all the project details online which eases the due diligence process for buyers says surjit singh presidentmarketing rna corp in its residential project rna viva the company