IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY: A CASE STUDY OF DEFENSE HOUSING AUTHORITY (DHA) BAHAWALPUR

Abstract

The study aims at studying the effects of social media on the purchase of property in Defense Housing Authority (DHA) Bahawalpur. A quantitative and descriptive research design was used to collect data from a sample of 300 that yielded a 97% response rate from 291 participants from District Bahawalpur using a structured five point likert scale questionnaire. The instrument had good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83). The data were analysed with SPSS 25 software using descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test. The results show that social media is having a significant impact on property buying decision in DHA: most of the respondents follow real estate-related social media accounts, use social media to get information about properties and believe that social media platforms are offering accurate and valuable information about properties in DHA. However, there was some consensus that social media advertising, effectiveness of social media marketing, and trustworthiness/credibility would positively affect buyer attitudes, although with varying degrees. There was no statistically significant difference between males and females on any of the key dimensions of the study. The study ends with some suggestions for real estate professionals and developers working inside DHA.