When Amir Sheikh, an expatriate Pakistani IT professional based in Saudi Arabia, wanted to dispose off his plot in a housing society close to the Allama Iqbal Airport in Lahore, he had a long list of potential buyers. Thousands of miles away from his homeland, he felt he was right there in his country and dealing with these people face to face.

During the last three years he had closely monitored the trends in the real estate sector in the city, thanks to some web portals and sites providing day-to-day updates on the sector. He browsed through these, extensively, and got an idea from hundreds of property listings there that it was the right time to sell his plot and make investment somewhere else.

The moment he gets the price he wants he will send a certified authority letter through embassy, asking a trusted real estate agent to execute the deal and divert the sale proceeds to another.

Earlier, years ago, when he wanted to invest in the property mentioned above, he had to wait for his annual leave and travel all the way to Pakistan to carry out the transaction. The whole process consumed more than half of his leaves and he had to visit scores of people which cost him a lot of time and money. The moment the real estate agent or plot owners would come to know that he was employed overseas, they would immediately raise the asking price.

Amir is one of thousands and thousands of keen buyers and investors who want to buy properties without risking their investment and do proper market research for the purpose. Real estate portals give them a good option.

Over the years, a reasonably large number of real estate websites and portals have come up. Some of them are eProperty.pk, lahoreproperties.net, zameen.com, lamudi.pk, bastee.pk, pakistanrealestate.net and olx.com.pk. These websites are of two types -- either they are owned by particular real estate agents who advertise their own business or they represent the sector on the whole and allow users including individuals and real estate agents to advertise their listings and demands.

Many of them try to ensure there are no fraudulent listings but cannot guarantee protection against harms caused by the third party.

According to Shaista Zulfiqar, Senior Communication Manager at zameen.com, a leading real estate portal, the (real estate) businesses are ensuring online presence mainly due to the convenience it offers.

It is a fact that online marketing has increased manifold over the years and people are turning to portals whether they want to buy mobile phones, cars, household items or cars.

The professionally managed portals, she says, give prospective buyers endless options to narrow their search according to the budget they have, the model they prefer or any other criteria they may have in mind. Secondly, the exposure is not limited to a particular segment and the listings are available to a global audience.

One major reason why people visit the website again and again, she says, is that it regularly carries research reports on latest trends in the real estate sector and suggestions for investors on how to play safe.

Shaista says zameen.com connects buyers and sellers but it does not charge any commission if the deal gets through. The earning which it makes are through the different packages it offers to individual users and real estate agents to list their properties on the websites.

Besides, the website manages several blogs, real estate advisory services and discussion fora which engage real estate experts on different issues and attract a lot of traffic. "Heavy traffic, no doubt, is the key to any website’s success and popularity," she adds.

However, there are people like Muhammad Arif who do not fully agree with the concept of unregulated online marketing. He says many people display their property listings on the websites and quote extraordinarily high rates just for fun which harms the interest of serious players in the real estate market. Such people are not serious in selling their properties so they take a chance hoping some filthy rich expatriate would offer them their dream price one day.

Arif, who deals in real estate, says he has a tough time satisfying his clients who want to sell their properties at rates closer to those quoted for similar properties on real estate websites.

Saad Arshed, Country Director, lamudi.pk, says the website is different from others in a way that it only allows registered and certified real estate agents to post their listings. "There is no provision for individuals to display their posts as it is difficult for them to verify the credentials of so many people. The website does not charge commission on deals and earns from the fees charged from registered agents."

Arshed says the website is professionally developed and has endless search options. People can select properties within certain price ranges, according to locations, size in terms of area and so on.

He also cites another plus point which is that the sellers can add endless demographic details regarding location, neighbourhood, the size of different rooms and the material used in its construction etc.

To maintain quality, he says, lamudi.pk teams visit the properties and take snaps on their own.

Arshed says lamudi.pk also conducts the credibility check on registered members to save prospective buyers and sellers from frauds and bring transparency to the real estate market. To date, lamudi.pk has 650 registered agents and above 50,000 active property listings.

Syed Athar Ali Kazmi, President, Lahore Real Estate Advisors’ Association (LREAA), acknowledges the importance of real estate portals but thinks there should be some pre-conditions to allow people to run them as it is a serious matter. He says only those people who are registered with competent authorities should be allowed to launch these websites so that they could me made accountable for whatever they upload.

He says some websites normally paint a rosy picture which is different from reality. For example, if you visit Siddiq Trade Centre on Main Boulevard, Gulberg, you will find that hardly 35 to 40 percent is occupied but websites would say there is no vacant space there. Investors, such as those based oversees, are misled by such statements and end up blocking their investments. "Who will regulate them?" he asks.