Finding a good home has always been a difficult job as a lot of factors contribute in making a home and its locality appropriate for different clients. The buying and selling activity in Pakistan real estate was seen on low during last many years but the prices remained stable in bigger cities including Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. Those who could not afford to buy houses in these cities chose to live on rent, which is evident from the increasing population of the mentioned cities. According to the general trends of renting and buying houses in Pakistan, it is surprising to note that the demand for houses in posh as well as less developed areas is similar.

Out of bigger cities, the performance of Lahore real estate has been encouraging for the realty market and many housing and commercial projects kept on adding value to properties in Lahore. Ever since the property boom witnessed in 2001, Pakistan real estate sector has expanded 25 folds. In light of the unfolding international events of 2001, a tremendous rise was observed in the revenue sent back home by the overseas Pakistani and most of it was invested in real estate business. Lahore real estate in general and Properties in DHA, Lahore in particular benefited much from this foreign exchange. The value of residential plots and houses in DHA increased 300 times in less than few days after the tragic demise of World Trade Center.

The real estate business in Pakistan has climbed many steps of success ladder but it is very important that its benefits are reaped by people from all sectors, classes and localities. According to the estimates of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and industry, more than 5 lacks houses need to be added in the realty sector annually for next two decades to meet the housing shortfall in Pakistan. It is also been noted that almost 50% population of population of major cities lives in undesirable conditions. These statistics show the potential of real estate and infrastructural sector of Pakistan and also determine the areas where the focus should now be at.

As per Munir Sultan, the Chairman of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Standing Committee on Real Estate, port cities are crowned as the most expensive cities to live in as far as the house rents and the value of real estate are concerned, but In Pakistan that honour befalls on Lahore. Now that may seem as though Karachi real estate is not doing all that well but as they say, one man’s loss is another’s gain. Same is the case with Karachi real estate where the market has become more of a buyer’s playground, giving them bigger room for price bargain and more choices in terms of quality of property.

According to a survey recently conducted by a famous Russian real estate website, Karachi got voted as the least expensive city to live in. Some of the many things that were taken in account while compiling this ranking list of the world capitals included cost of living, real estate value, food, transportation, and utilities. So given all of these factors, there is no doubt that this is perhaps the best time to move to Karachi and reap the benefit of low costs.

For investors too, this represents an equally good and unique opportunity. Now, when the realty markets across the world are struggling, is the time to invest in Karachi real estate. The conditions that are prevailing in Karachi are only bound to improve over the period of time but before it does, it has given you an opportunity to make most of the low property prices. Given the fact that the prices of property in Karachi real estate cannot drop any lower, you can go on to invest in Karachi real estate in hopes of making a hefty profit in a few years. If not, the city still represent as a cheap yet very modern place to live in. If you are considering to relocate, then give Karachi a try.

The work, on part of the Lahore Development Authority, for the development of several new housing societies in Lahore has already begun. During the last week of January 2012, a total of forty three commercial and residential plots were auctioned in Lahore. Held at the Lahore Development Authority’s Community Centre in Muslim Town, the first auction brought in loads of buyers and investors. This single auction managed to sell some twenty four residential and eleven commercial plots.

All of these plots are either located in newly developed areas or are an extension of Sabzazar and Johar Town. Sabzazar is already a housing scheme that is considered on the peripheries of the city of Lahore. The rapid expansion of Lahore goes to say a lot about the huge number of people which are pouring into the city every year and making it their hometown. Although these auctions were but the start of a series of auctions that were scheduled for 2012, the number of customers and investors they attracted speaks volumes about the demand of plots in decent localities.

Together, both of these auctions generated a total of Rs 41.79 million which is a huge number in itself from plots which are located in the outskirts of Lahore. Johar Town took away the honour of receiving the highest bid for one of its commercial plots which stood at Rs 1.12 million per marla. For residential property however, Sabzarar remained the preferred locality where one of the plots sold for Rs 431,000 per marla.

Some might be startled to see such high prices for such remote housing societies but the prices were approved by the evaluation committee of the State Bank of Pakistan. LDA has postponed any further auctions indefinitely for reasons unknown but you can regularly check its website to stay updated if and when the next auction is held.

Property in Islamabad have always been considered a secure investment and there are countless reasons behind it. Few years ago, property in the adjoining areas of Islamabad were available on cheaper rates but their prices sky rocketed quickly and various small villages are now transforming into chic housing societies linked with the city through highways. Most of the plots and houses in the societies near Islamabad and Rawalpindi are either booked or sold. Same is the case with properties in the premises of the Capital. As soon as new plots are announced in new sector and sub sectors of Islamabad, countless application mount, showing the value and demand of properties in Islamabad.

The Capital Development Authority invited application for plots in Sector G-6 and by the last day, about 1,700 applications were received for 1,120 available plots. The size of these plots varied, ranging between 111 and 2100 square yards and most of the applications were received for bigger plots. Among these applications, quite many were for the 666 square yard plots, which were only 48 in number. The management and the real estate experts are quite satisfied with response from people and are hopeful to witness similar activity in Pakistan real estate. The next step in plot allocation is sorting the applications. For the plots that have received more applications, a lot will be held to keep the process fair.

For the CDA as well as real estate agents, the public response to these applications was very surprising. Since the applications were to be submitted with 10% down payment of the plot, it was quite astonishing the number of applications received was much more than the available plots. The vision for city’s expansion was conceived few years ago and the public response to this confirms that Islamabad needs more space to accommodate the people interested in living and investing here. Sector G 6 is one of the 38 sectors, which are planned for the city’s expansion. CDA will invite applications for the residential and commercial property in Islamabad‘s sector F in next couple of months.