Buying
Buying a home in India without a broker
Indian brokers collect from both sides, so a buyer pays 1 to 2 percent plus GST even though the seller is paying too.
Where private sellers actually list in India
Each of these is a separate pool. A saved search on one tells you nothing about the others, so set up alerts on every one you intend to use.
- Anyone.com Listed by the owner
Homes listed by the owners themselves, so there is no broker collecting from your side of the deal as well as theirs. You talk to the owner and negotiate directly, and the registration then happens the same way it always does.
More than 31 million active listings across 31 markets, agent-represented and owner-listed together. 99acres carries owner, dealer and builder listings, with the owner label widely gamed.
Search owner-listed homes ↗ - NoBroker Owners can list
Buyer filter Owner listings only, which is the premise of the whole platform
Built entirely on owner-direct listings, with no percentage brokerage. Worth knowing two things before you rely on it: it operates in six cities only, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi NCR, and while it takes no commission it does sell buyers paid plans for contact access. Outside those cities it will not help you.
- 99acres Owners can list
Buyer filter A choice between Owner, Builder and Dealer, with the contact action labelled accordingly
Carries owner, dealer and builder listings together and lets you separate them, which most portals in Europe do not. The known weakness is that brokers register as owners to get the label, so treat it as a strong hint and confirm on the call.
- MagicBricks Owners can list
Buyer filter An owner distinction with verified-owner badging
Markets brokerage-free property listed directly by owners as a category. Same caveat about brokers posing as owners applies, and the same fix: ask who you are speaking to before you visit.
- Housing.com Owners can list
Buyer filter A posted-by distinction separating owners from dealers
The fourth of the national portals, with a similar mix. Running the same search on two or three of these is worth the effort, because listings do not overlap as much as you would expect.
How many homes this really covers
The owner-direct channel is real but narrower than it looks. NoBroker, the biggest name in it, covers six cities, and the number of registered agents nationally rose about 19 percent in 2025 to over 105,000, so the brokered market is growing rather than shrinking. Outside the major metros an Indian buyer without a broker is largely on their own, and the owner labels on the portals are unreliable because brokers use them.
Section 194-IA of the Income Tax Act, and what RERA does not cover
Two legal points that catch unrepresented buyers. On any purchase of ₹50 lakh or more you are personally required to withhold 1 percent of the price as tax at source and remit it, filing the prescribed form. On a ₹80 lakh flat that is ₹80,000, and the duty is yours rather than the seller's, so nobody else will do it for you. The second is about protection you may think you have: RERA governs a promoter selling in a registered project. A completed flat resold by one individual to another falls outside it entirely, so the regulator that gets quoted at you is not standing behind a resale.
In force since RERA in force 1 May 2017; the TDS duty applies at ₹50 lakh and above. Read the legislation
Buying one, step by step
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Filter for owner listings, then verify on the call
99acres, MagicBricks and Housing.com all let you separate owners from dealers, and NoBroker is owner-only within its six cities. Ask directly who you are speaking to before you visit, because the label is widely gamed.
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Get an advocate to run a title search
Going back years, along with the encumbrance certificate. Because title is presumptive rather than conclusive, this is the single most important thing you will pay for, and it has nothing to do with whether a broker is involved.
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Work out your state's stamp duty
It varies enormously. On ₹80 lakh expect around ₹5.1 lakh in Mumbai, roughly ₹4.8 lakh in Bengaluru and ₹5.6 lakh in Delhi, with a lower rate for a female buyer in Delhi. Registration charges sit on top and some states cap them.
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Plan for the 1 percent TDS
At ₹50 lakh and above you must withhold it and file the return yourself. It is your legal duty, not the seller's, and private purchases skip it more often than any other step.
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Check the approvals, not just the paperwork
Occupancy certificate, completion certificate, approved building plan and, in a society, the share certificate and no-objection letter. A resale outside RERA means no regulator has checked any of this for you.
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Register the sale deed
An unregistered deed does not pass title. Both parties attend the Sub-Registrar with witnesses, stamp duty is paid, and the deed is registered.
Check before any money moves
- The chain of title over the last several years, checked by your own advocate
- The encumbrance certificate from the sub-registrar's office, showing any charge on the property
- Your state's stamp duty and registration charges, and whether a lower rate applies to a female buyer
- The occupancy and completion certificates, and that the building matches its approved plan
- In a cooperative society, the share certificate, the no-objection letter and any outstanding maintenance
- Whether GST applies, which it does on under-construction property and not on a ready resale
Selling one instead? See where to list a home yourself in India , or the full guide to selling without an agent in India .
Common questions
Does the buyer really pay brokerage in India?
Yes, and the seller pays too. The custom is 1 to 2 percent from each side independently, plus 18 percent GST. On a ₹80 lakh flat your share alone is ₹94,400 at 1 percent. No law fixes it, so it is negotiable, and buying direct removes your side of it.
Can I filter portals to see only owner listings?
Yes. 99acres lets you choose between owner, builder and dealer, and MagicBricks and Housing.com have equivalents with verified-owner badging. NoBroker is owner-only but covers just six cities. Be aware that brokers register as owners, so confirm on the call.
Does RERA protect me on a resale?
No. RERA covers a promoter selling in a registered project. A completed flat sold by one individual to another sits outside it, so if someone invokes RERA on a resale, it is not doing the work they suggest.
What is the TDS I keep reading about?
On a purchase of ₹50 lakh or more you must withhold 1 percent of the price and remit it to the tax department yourself, with the prescribed form. On ₹80 lakh that is ₹80,000. The obligation is the buyer's personally, and missing it brings interest and penalties.
Is buying without a broker riskier in India?
The risk in an Indian purchase is title, and it is there whether or not a broker is involved, because titles are presumptive and the Sub-Registrar certifies nothing. The answer is an advocate's search and an encumbrance certificate. A broker never provided either.
Sources
Every legal, tax, and process claim on this page traces to one of these. We re-check them on a schedule and date the page when anything changes.
- How to search for properties posted by owner, builder or dealer99acres · 99acres.com
- TDS on sale of property under section 194-IAIncome Tax Department · incometaxindia.gov.in
- RERA and resale or secondary market properties99acres · 99acres.com
- Stamp duty and registration charges in MaharashtraClearTax · cleartax.in