E-Commerce India: Is Real-estate group buying working?

Buying a house has a unique value in India. Everybody wants a piece of land for themselves by the time they retire. My previous generation used to struggle their entire caree,r to buy a piece of land and construct a house. That used to be the top-most financial goal, which they used to pursue with focus, interest and passion throughout. Buying the land was typically through referrals. Professionals talk about it in office, businessmen exchange Chinese whispers about availability of land and relatives come handy at offering good advice on buying land. A single bread-winner in the family manages to secure land or house in his career.

My generation (as most of you know) earns a job, takes a home loan and buys a house even before they turn 30 years of age. They enjoy the 'own-house' while paying the EMIs simultaneously. This is the generation which hunts for the right property to buy using technology. There are many real-estate related sites, which offer applications on hand-held devices too for easy browsing and searching of suitable property.

In real-estate, the builder would be able to offer a better deal, if his property units are sold quickly after the project is launched. Just like in any other business, the challenge is to reach out and get those people who can quickly buy from him. This is where the group-buying sites have come into play. They bring together the people who are looking for certain kind of properties in an area and those who build them. People can join appropriate groups and get a better deal while buying as a group instead of an individual. This is a win-win situation for everyone. Two such sites which I came across in this real-estate e-commerce space in India include http://grouphomebuyers.com and http://groffer.com.

I think the major hurdle in this form of e-commerce is the trust factor. What is the guarantee that the builder is not hiking the prices before offering discount? Are there so many number of buyers already, as stated in these sites, for a particular offer? Are these sites just a manifestation of 'deal sites' in a different form? Why are there no testimonials on these sites?

If these offers are taken to tier-3 and tier-4 cities, that could provide a better value proposition for buyers and sellers. There is only so much land; let's use technology and grab it - as an individual or in a group !