The Federal Capital City of Islamabad is currently undergoing a wave of a plethora of new construction programmes. Not too far behind is its twin city, Rawalpindi, where the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board has just announced the launch of a model housing scheme.

The twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi play home to thousands of employees from other cities who reside in both the towns either temporarily or permanently. With each year, the number of people from other cities, who get employed here and need residence in Rawalpindi-Islamabad, increases. To accommodate these employees, government and various private sectors launch housing schemes from time to time. But because Islamabad and Rawalpindi are known to host some of the highest valued properties in Pakistan, not everyone can afford to buy property there.

For that reason, many people are forced to live on rents in Islamabad and the sister city, Rawalpindi, under adverse conditions. The announcement regarding the launch of Model Housing Scheme in Rawalpindi has come as a breath of fresh air for such people who would now be in position to consider better options for their work place as well as residence. Availability of better accommodation will also reduce their travelling distance and they might end up saving some money which otherwise is spent on high rents and ever inflated petrol.

Cantonment, be it in any city, is widely regarded as a posh area in terms of property prices and the standard of living. Not just that, but the fact that the MHS of Rawalpindi will also host all facilities such as schools, parks, masajid and community centres has brought good news for all kinds of people. It would be premature to comment on the prices of properties in this particular project but Zameen, the best B2B portal for Pakistan real estate reckons that the rental value for houses in this scheme might not be as high as the rents in Islamabad.

The Pakistan real estate has long since lost its splendor and charm. The property agents, dealers, buyers and sellers all have the same concerns. The concerns are even severe about the commercial property. The only way to deal with this dire property lapse was to give buyer a substitute. Dealing in small and cheap houses located at acceptable locations and offering reasonable amenities seemed to be the perfect formula to keep the real estate sector running.

Many property dealers believe that the construction projects like Ring Road would be energy booster for real estate in Pakistan. While there are some who think that the factors causing the downward tilt in property business would still exits to discourage the buyers and sellers. None the less everyone is happy that with ring road, more than 70KM of valuable property on its both sides will bring revenue for the city and affect it from various prospects.

Projects

With the new roads and flyovers, it is believed that the housing society projects would get the boom. The people living in outskirts of Lahore have been waiting for long for the Ring Road to complete and make life easier for them. Anticipating the importance of this area of Lahore, many people bought acres of land here in late 90s. The rate of the property in 90s was10% of what it is today. Those who own land around Link Road feel that it is about time for them to cash it

The Ferozpur Road Flyover is a different case but its importance is no less. It is the busiest and the longest signal of Lahore. The traffic here stays stuck throughout the day and night. This flyover will lubricate the intercity traffic flow and save thousands and thousands of those who remain stuck at the Chowk for no less than 10 min daily.

Increased prices

The rates of property located around and closer to Ring Road faced a gradual increase during the last decade. It is believed that it will reach the zenith near the completion of the Ring Road. This 70 + kilometer wide road with six regular lanes and one emergency service lane, will of course attract investment internationally. The experts believe that if this project is completed in time, the Dubai based Pakistani victims of the real estate crises could be accommodated here. This would mean tremendous increase in the adjoining property’s value.

New housing projects

The new business opportunity will invite more population in the city. To accommodate this increased number of people belonging to the business and executive class, new and better housing projects would be required. Since the surrounding areas of Ring Road are already seeing the boom, the housing projects sound very lucrative. This means more activity in construction and property dealing section.

Investment

Since Ring Road is one of the biggest commercial projects in the history of Lahore, it is very important to plan the business activities generated in response to it. According to a rough estimate, with the first 5 years of Ring Road’s opening, a revenue worth of 50 billion dollars would be earned. The inflow of such huge amount will certainly benefit all business sectors and is destined to improve the conditions Lahore real estate as well.

The international economic crises are leaving significant impact on Pakistan. Inflation is growing with every passing day, it appears that no authorized body is assigned to keep a check on the rate lists and make an effort to keep it a under the threshold. The edibles are getting out of people’s reach the conditions are even worse at the public and private welfare institutes which are home to orphans, homeless children, women and older citizens.

It has become hard for people from lower class to maintain their integrity and at the same time exist in the society. Middle class is also facing serious threats of getting wiped out. The norms and trends of the middle class families, residing in cities, are changing at a faster pace. Women are bound to make a contribution in earning bread and butter for the family and retain its social status. The number of working women has increased many folds in the last one decade, looks like their hard work throughout school, college and university has finally paid off.

One thing however is noticeable; the big markets of every city are seen buzzing with people and the high street shops, chain stores, shopping malls and designer outlets continue to get their big chunks of revenue. The retails shops in smaller colonies, less fashionable markets and not so popular areas have reported a sheer drop in sales. Combined with power crises, lawlessness and blasts, the laborers and small business are facing the loudest music and consequently closing down and making thousands and thousands of people jobless. It is not hard for anyone to imagine the extent to which people can go in order to feed their family.

The gold has hiked to unbelievable extent and the value of rupee has dropped to the lowest limit of the history. Such elements have combined to give this impression that making an investment in Pakistan would be a bad move. The condition is even worse in the real estate sectors; the agents are mostly inactive, waiting for a better deal and stay idle for months. Unfortunately, the reduced activity in real estate sector is not bringing the value of real estate down, either. Both the sellers and buyers are desperate for the circumstances to get in their favor so that they can make the right move and make some good money.

Apparently it sounds farfetched to expect a robust improvement in real estate sector but who knows when and how the circumstances make Pakistan Properties valuable once again for the Pakistanis living across the globe.

Faisalabad was once well known for its bumpy and wrecked roads. It’s no longer the city’s ground reality as carpeted highways and main roads are replacing the unkempt road tracks. The road network in the city is widening and smaller towns and adjoining villages are also benefiting from this surprising and long awaited development. The overall development of the city has although been slow but quite apparent now.

Many posh housing societies and commercial areas are established to meet the increasing needs of the people residing here.  But this doesn’t mean that “All is good”, the razor sharp jaws of inflation are dug deep in the city’s economy and also in real estate sector and even cruder is the increasing interest rates and strict loaning conditions set by the banks. All of it has combined to squeeze the life out of Faisalabad real estate sector which otherwise promises great investment opportunities to the realtors.

The Faisalabad city offers job opportunities to tens of thousands of people who flee from nearby villages to work in the mills and factories and settle in the slums. The inflation, power crises, unrest, lawlessness and corruption has made their life a lot difficult than it already is. And now the increased interest rates of the banks have made their survival even hard as value of  property and rents have consequently gone up to 90%. The inflation has affected every sector of life, even the development projects have come to a halt due to increasing price of cement and building material.

Real estate experts believe that the increased interest rates setby banks are forcing the investors to remain inactive in the real estate and therefore there is hardly an activity seen in the property market. It is reported that the property prices in Faisalabad have witnessed a 100% increase in last 5 years. And the smaller investors and businessmen do not afford to spend over 4 million Rs. for a 10marla residential plot and that too in less posh area of the city. The rents have seen a 90% increase over the last three years. Similar is the case for mortgage.

The inflation and increasing recession is sucking the life out of the middle and lower middle class in Faisalabad. The tenants are forced to shift to smaller rooms and live in terrible conditions because the increasing rents have made a decent accommodation out of their reach. It feels terrible to see Faisalabad, the city which generates a big chunk of revenue for the country’s economy, withering away due to poor management of resources and ever increasing inflation.

Among many other sectors, Pakistan real estate has not been doing all that good in the recent few years. The abysmal conditions of the economy and the deficit budget have severely damaged various sectors of the state. The bad conditions in several of these sectors has further aggravated by the political uncertainty in the country. Gratefully enough, State Bank of Pakistan has taken a step to help get the real estate sector back on track.

Pakistan real estate sector is one of the few sectors which, despite the uncertainty, has been one of the most prosperous sector of the state during the mid and late 2000s. The recently found economic boom and all the foreign aid that was pouring into the country, as a result of President Musharraf acceding to assist the US in, what many believe to be, her war on terror, seeped well into the construction sector as well. As a result, prices of Pakistan properties soured, making it one of the best sectors to invest in for the local investors and realtors.

The situation, unfortunately, did not last for long. Even though, the condition for the real estate is not as bad as some like to imagine, but the decision of the SBP has received a warm welcome. The decision, on part of the SBP, came in an attempt to boost large scale construction in the country.

According to news reports, the local commercial banks do not afford to facilitate any kind of large scale construction in the country.  In 2009 – 2010, the construction rate which was a surprising twenty eight percent had been reduced to 0.8 % in 2011. This rapid fall has brought along a wave of negative trends in the market which has had adverse effects on the prices of the properties and rent in Lahore and Islamabad, among many other cities of Pakistan.

The SBP’s decision to aid large scale constructions is no less than ‘divine intervention’ for the local investors, realtors and landlords who hope that this decision will tilt the market in their favour. That may not happen at all since part of the SBP’s plan includes facilitating several housing schemes for the poor. Other than the availability of cheap houses for the middle class, SBP’s action plan will help loosen up cash flows, which in the end, will have some positive and long lasting effects on the real estate sector of the state.

The major construction activities are witnessed in central and facilitated areas of Lahore and the outskirts of the city are forced to maintain a low profile for no good reason. Lahore Development Authority has finally taken notice of it and relaxed the building bylaws for Finance and Trade Centre, Johar Town. The owners of commercial property in the Trade Centre now have no reason to ignore the need of high rise buildings in this supposedly less posh area of Lahore.

The rules of Pakistan real estate are strange, one factor is linked with another in an intrinsic pattern and has the potential to uplift or devalue any potential property. Since the investors have been unable to attract major portion of people to the areas located in the farther section of the city, they are reluctant to construct taller buildings and expensive structures there. This is also a fact that due to this negligence on the part of authorities is making the people of such localities suffer as they are kept denied of the facilities they were once promised.

The situation is expected to get a lot better as LDA is all geared up to reclaim the former glory of properties in Lahore. A sum of Rs. 500 million in LDA’s budget is been reserved for this purpose. It will be spent on building new infrastructure in Trade Centre and improving the older one. It has been reported that LDA is to make new building regulation for the place. The subsoil survey of the site is to begin soon and later the application will be sent to Civil Aviation Authority for NOC.

According to these recent building regulations, five basements can be built on a plot bigger than four kanal. And there is no height limit  for construction in that particular area. Over 110 kanal of space is reserved in Finance and Trade Centre for a five star hotel and 90 kanal for a superstore. The open auction bidding for these plots is expected to be held on Sep 10, 2011.

Out of the 1123 kanal area of the Trade center, 27 kanal are reserved for a hospital, 32 for mini golf, 69 for a bank square, 5 for a mosque, 27 for health club, 75 on recreational area, 40 kanal for multistory apartments and 42 kanal for are allocated for a park with lake in it. And the remaining area is reserved for roads, service centre, commercial area, LDA tower and corporate offices. Let’s see if these efforts restore the buyer’s confidence in real estate in Pakistan and convince him to make some smart moves.



Buying or selling a piece of land may sound a simple proposition but if you have never done it before, making a wise move requires lots of market research and genuine contacts. With the outskirts of every city becoming part of it and new housing projects launching every other day, lots of business activity should have been witnessed in Pakistan Real Estate. But the situation is rather reverse of what the circumstance demand. There could be thousands of factors resisting people to make investment in property sector but there are ways to become more confident as a buyer or seller of property.

Here are some pointers which will build your confidence while making an investment in real estate.

1. Look for an independent survey reports

There are various departments and private offices which release survey reports about specific areas of major cities and properties in Pakistan. Some real estate agents also conduct their own surveys and make them available to their prospect clients. These surveys help you get a neutral view of the area and also give an insight of the selling, buying and renting rates there.

1. Check Area profile

An area’s profile depends on the various factors including the major development projects in the area, important places located near it, status of roads and related infrastructure and also the very location of the property itself. If you are a buyer and there are chances that such facilities will be available soon in that area and, making that investment would be a good idea. And if you plan to sell the land, do it when all such promised facilities are available.

1. Study Market Trends

Some avid investors do get to know about the expected future value of certain area in advance and they are seen buying property in those areas in bulk. A good property dealer is also aware of or has an idea about how the future might value the property in particular area. Studying the buying and selling trends alone can give you enough confidence before buying or selling a piece of land.

1. Consult various sources

Just before the real estate slump in Pakistan, property dealers were making millions of rupees from each deal they would settle. We do not intend to advocate how profitable it is to become a property dealer but instead wish to give you an idea about how much amount a property dealer can keep from you. So when buying a piece of land or looking for Property for sale in Pakistan consult more sources, and more here means many. You can also advertise it in the newspaper and have an idea about what independent dealer or buyer may offer.

Conclusion!

It is always wise to hold your buying and selling decision keeping in view the economic and political conditions of the country. A good news forces people to make investment and the market rates temporarily go up. Similarly a bad news can give a real bad jerk to the overall market including the real estate. A good buyer or a seller is an informed and active one and has lots of contacts. The points discussed above can help you become one.

Lahore Development Authority lifted sanctions from more than 50 major boulevards of Lahore. These roads are now open for commercial activity. The steps, which were apparently taken to add to the development budget of Lahore, are going to benefiting the resident of those areas as well the investors. The property dealers and investors are hopeful to see some real activity in Pakistan Real Estate.

Lahore, the second largest city of Pakistan, witnessed a business boom in late 90s due to unrest in Karachi. Major companies and brand rolled their business from Karachi and shifted their setup to Lahore. The city offered highly conducive environment for business activities and in no time, designer brands, chain stores, shopping malls and commercial areas were seen buzzing with avid buyers. However his business activity was limited to certain posh areas of Lahore and consequently seized commercial development in other parts of the city.

Liberty, Fortress and Anarkali have always been the major commercial areas of Lahore but the first decade of this millennium saw the rising of various commercial areas in DHA, Gulberg, Cantt, Cavalry, MM Alam Road, Model Town, Alama Iqbal Town, Shadman and Jail Road to name a few. From immigration offices to famous pan shops, and from toy stores to fitness centres, you can now find every such facility in all of the known markets and commercial areas of the city. Therefore the value of Lahore Property in these areas observed a massive increase.

The darker side of giving liberty to certain areas surfaced right away but since the majority of stakeholders had nothing to protect in less developed areas, things were let the way they were. Within few years one could see the major difference between the areas linked to the commercially active zone and those with the less privileged ones. From basic infrastructure to health facilities and from education to law and order, every aspect of these areas mirrored the miseries inflicted upon them due to the dual standards of the authorities.

Well, bad days are over; LDA has given some leverage to 58 new boulevards and eased commercial restrictions on them. Some of these roads include Ferozpur Road (From Chungi to Sua-Asil),  College Road, Multan Road (Chowk Yateem Khana to Defence Road), Township ane the main  boulevards are of Gulshan-e-Ravi, Johar Town approach Road (Tajpura Mor to Shadbagh), and PIA Scheme.

The property dealers and investors of Lahore Real Estate are all active once again to get back in business and make the buyers and sellers help these areas get their well deserved share of prosperity and development.

For decades, Karachi has been the hub of more than just the economy, culture, trade and education. Unfortunately, though the charm posed by the city for the dwellers a few years ago is dwindling ever so abruptly.

Karachi plays home to almost all ethnic groups of Pakistan which move about in the tightly knit communities. Due to a rapid increase in the population throughout the 1970s and the 80s which continued well into the 90s, Karachi real estate boomed. With the multitudes pouring in from all corners of the country, investors and realtors began erecting residential towers which, in turn, gave birth to a lifestyle which was unique to Karachi. This lifestyle and the economic prosperity of the city helped its real estate value sky rocket. Despite the high prices of the flats, Karachi retained its attraction.

These flats or apartments served two basic purposes. First, they offered affordable accommodation for the multitude of people who were flocking to nest in the city. Second benefit of this boom was a direct positive effect on Pakistan real estate in general and Karachi real estate in particular.  The prosperity that came along with this boom was unprecedented for any of the other cities of Pakistan.

This high rush of property in Karachi did not last for long. The recent series of unfortunate events has adversely affected all sectors of the city, including its real estate. Because of deteriorating law and order conditions in the city, the realtors too are afraid of investing in the sector where selling a piece of land is becoming harder with every passing day. This has proven to be a drastic blow for Pakistan real estate and for Karachi in particularly since the recent turn of event has reinforced the long ever arising security concerns of the local residents.

Even though the never ending inflation and recession seem to have badly bruised the purchasing power of people, the situation in other cities however improved. The real estate prices and rent in Islamabad & Lahore, among other cities, have somewhat stabilized. Karachi, on the other hand, is waiting to become a peaceful and safe city for the people and businesses one more and once for a

Farhan Aziz Khawaja, the Managing Director of Punjab Small Industries Corporation announced the government’s plan to turn South Punjab into an industrial hub.

According to news report, the Managing Director briefed the media about the government’s intention of developing no less than eight industrial estates in the less privileged part of the province. Southern Punjab, which comprises of districts Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalnagar and Vehari etc, is the poorest part of Punjab. Setting up Industrial Estates within these areas would not only help raise the standards of living of these people but also give substantial value to Pakistan real estate.

How does it affect real estate?

It is common sense that before buying property, you make basic inquiries about the availability of water, gas and electricity. Nobody wants to even consider purchasing a plot that does not have gas! That’s exactly the case with the properties in these areas, which, rest assured, is going to change with the government’s new development project.

The development of the said industrial estates can greatly benefit the realtors and investors in Southern Punjab. It might come as a surprise to some of you, but the ugly truth is that South Punjab is where most of the people are still deprived of basic human rights. The availability of drinking water in most of these areas is scarce. The establishment of industrial estates there presents a prospect of the availability of drinking water. The water supply to this area will definitely add to living standards and thus the property value of surrounding areas.

The other amenity expected to be bestowed upon this most neglected part of Punjab is the supply of gas. Most of the districts in South Punjab are not linked with the gas supply line. By turning parts of these underdeveloped districts into industrial hubs, the government will have to install a gas pipe lines in the areas, which will definitely benefit the surrounding areas and give some boost to the real estate in Pakistan

Electricity, that’s one high voltage word which might just really change the fortune of the people of South Punjab. It is impossible to set up any kind of industry without power supply. With the virtue of these industries, if and when electricity finds its way to any of the real estate property surrounding the areas, one can be sure that the prices of these properties would surge.

All of the above mentioned things would definitely give a wakeup nudge to the value of properties in Pakistan.