Online portals for property refute ‘realty agents’ tag

After a consumer organisation demanded that all real estate web portals register with the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) since they function like any other housing agency, the portals have said they cannot be called realty agents (or brokers) as they are not engaged in any profit-making activity and do not collect any commission related to property deals. Representatives of all the portals that TOI spoke to refuted the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat’s contention that they facilitate sale and purchase of plots and apartments like other housing agencies. The consumer body made its contention in a complaint to MahaRERA. Sudhir Pai, CEO of Magicbricks, said they are “intermediaries” as per the Information Technology (IT) Act, but do not carry out any property transactions, so they do not qualify as real estate brokers. “Magicbricks is a classifieds portal and we operate like an advertising platform for landlords, brokers and builders. We do not handle property transactions ourselves, neither do we offer such services to property buyers, nor are we privy to any sale transaction between the developer and end customer at any stage,” he said.