Without the internet, Suparna is like a night owl out in bright daylight on a sunny day.
She feels completely lost.
She does a lot of work with the help of the Internet.
She does her banking online, pays telephone, electricity bills, and taxes online. Her shopping is mostly done through internet-based apps these days.
Even on the days she wishes to try outside food, she just uses the food delivery apps.
If the internet is inaccessible for some issue with the network, she feels helpless.
The days when you had to stand in queue for paying electricity bills or taxes are long gone.
But Suparna is not alone.
The benefits of the internet are accessible to many others like her. Apart from the convenience, it saves a humongous amount of time.
Let’s consider buying a home in Kolkata.
You have to check various properties before you shortlist some of them. Then you go and visit them before taking the final decision.
Visiting everywhere physically is very demanding and is a big time-waster. It is much better to collect as much information as possible through an internet search before visiting any property.
You can gather a lot of information about the property as well as the location, nearby facilities, connectivity, etc. In fact, you can do detailed research before buying a property.
And homebuyers are actually doing that.
Let us see who they are.
Who are the homebuyers in Kolkata today?
More Homebuyers are Searching Properties Online
As the demand for homes has gone up in the recent period, we have witnessed more internet traffic searching for homes.
The interesting part?
Most of the traffic comes from organic sources (45%) followed by direct channels (43%).
Now what are these sources?
When a homebuyer searches on the internet and visits a website it is called an organic visit. When a visitor searches for a specific website and visits it, it is direct traffic.
Of course, homebuyers are also searching for properties in general in a particular location e. g. 3 BHK flat in Joka, but these searches are mostly against advertisements on Google.
Homebuyers are Doing Detailed Research
Time is at a premium these days and everybody is aiming to save as much of it as possible.
Homebuyers are visiting websites of particular properties as well as marketing intermediates’ websites and they are spending a lot of time studying different properties, their locations, plans, amenities, and other relevant information such as price, completion time, etc.
Apart from the property portals, marketing intermediary’s websites, and the developer’s website about a project, you can also use other ways to get insights about a project, especially the location and nearby infrastructure.
What are these ways?
We will discuss this in a moment.
Benefit from Google Maps, Google Earth
You can start with Google Maps while researching any area. With a higher zoom level, you can get enough clarity about a place and nearby facilities. You can check the road network, schools, markets, restaurants, hospitals, banks, and ATMs around any area with distances and get a fair idea about the place. Check the nearest metro station and bus stop to understand the ease of commuting.
You can also take the help of Google Maps to plan your daily commute to the office or school and understand the travel time and traffic bottlenecks in the area. You can also check how many alternative routes are available to return home from your office.
Another great way is to check the users’ reviews of a particular project and the facilities on Google Maps.
Google Earth and Street View are some of the helpful tools that you can use, to know more about the look and feel of a particular location. While Street View is not available for all locations, you can certainly know about the neighbourhood – the type of buildings and congestion level through this tool. You can also check out pictures on Google Earth, which are fed by local users.
Check Social Media
There are groups and pages related to particular areas and residential communities on Facebook. You can join such groups or browse through these pages and get a fair idea about the location, the advantages and pain points of living there, and the issues discussed.
Another effective way to know more about a property project is to search for relevant pages on Facebook, and go through the comments on the property ads. These comments are a great way to gather insightful ideas about a property.
Go through NK Realtors’ Website
NK Realtors’ website is a storehouse of information about properties.Apart from reading about projects, go through our blog also.
We regularly publish detailed information about a locality, its liveability score, nearby facilities, price appreciation history, and future prospects. You will also find sufficient information on various real estate projects in Kolkata.
Read Local Newspapers Online
All major newspapers are available online these days as websites or apps. If you go through these newspapers, you can find out about local issues, crime events, upcoming development projects, and a plethora of relevant information.
News media are also great places to gather information about municipal policies, and government policies that will affect any location. For example, you can know about the different Metro expansion plans in Kolkata, current status, and probable completion dates.
In fact, you should also check social media pages and handles of local newspapers and TV channels to get relevant information.
Apart from the above, you should also check the WBRERA website for comprehensive project information.
Always Prefer a Mix of Online and Offline
Although you can gather a lot of information about a property and its location you must talk to your property advisor before you take the buying decision.
A reliable property advisor can offer invaluable insights about a property based on your requirement. He can bring forward ideas not easily available online.
Moreover, you must visit the site and check the progress of the project, the quality of construction, and the amenities, and get a feel of the area. Then, and only then, you should sign the documents.
