KARACHI: Pakistani house-hunters are shifting from traditional methods to mobile Internet, thanks to growing usage of 3G and 4G.

The country boasts 30 million Internet users, 15m phone users and around 12.8m active monthly Facebook users, more than half of whom are active via a mobile device.

According to global search engine giant Google, 2014 was the year of mobile Internet and this trend is expected to continue. As a result, more and more property seekers are turning to mobile tools such as phone apps to search current real estate listings.

Saad Arshed, Country Director of Lamudi.pk, in a statement said a mobile revolution is under way in the real estate market in Pakistan. “Our mobile app for both Android and iOS users got a tremendous number of downloads within hours of their launch in 2014.”

Over 860,000 mobile and tablet users visited Lamudi.pk over the past six months, he said. “As smartphone prices continue to drop, mobile Internet will shape the future of real estate market in Pakistan,” he said.

Mohammad Shafi Jakvani, CEO CITI Associates in Clifton, told Dawn that people are definitely shifting towards various property Internet portals. He said the number of people selling and buying property on the Internet has risen to 30-40pc from 10pc a few years ago.

“Lifestyles are changing as many people first check the Internet before purchasing and selling anything, including real estate,” he said. “The sale and purchase advertisements on websites not only lure locals but also attract overseas Pakistanis.”

Some websites are now also offering their users option to upload videos of house and apartments to be sold out, while usage of still images for selling property on the Net is already in vogue, Shafi said, adding that “digital marketing is cost effective compared to print media.”

However, there is one catch. Some websites of property or other saleable items do not have any date. Consumers ring up the seller but the product was already sold out either recently or years back.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2015

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