Real estate sector posts subdued return in Jul-Sep

Investor activity remains largely muted during the three-month period

LAHORE: Pakistan’s real estate market failed to escape the wrath of political uncertainty as the sector’s performance remained subdued in the third quarter (July-September) of the calendar year.

Reforms in the tax regime had already put investors at unease in the previous year, after which an uncertain political climate and lack of clarity on future plans added to the woes.

However, according to online property portal zameen.com, genuine buyers continued their activity throughout the country.

Lahore

The portal’s third quarter report said Lahore has witnessed a drop in prices across nearly all tradable and popular housing societies. Phases VII, VIII and IX of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) all reported downward trends. Collectively, they experienced a moderate drop of 1.35% for 1-kanal and 2.98% drop for 10-marla plots.



The other preferred society, Bahria Town, similarly saw a 1.20% and 2.56% drop for 1-kanal and 10-marla options, respectively. While the prevalent sentiment is that investors are shying away from the project because of sector-specific issues, the overall slow market trends are evident here, too, stated the report.

Bahria Orchard has also seen a drop in the rates of both 1- kanal and 10-marla plots with 1.48% and 4.88% drops for both options, respectively. The three-month period also saw LDA Avenue I’s prices drop by 1.54% for 1-kanal and 2.28% for 10-marla options.

Islamabad

Islamabad’s real estate market largely remained stable, and some projects registered growth as well.

DHA Islamabad remained stable for 1- kanal plots with a mild 0.67% drop in prices, while 10-marla plots registered a 1.33% fall. Gulberg Residencia saw moderate drops of 3.97% and 2.26% for 1-kanal and 10-marla plots, respectively.

Bahria Town saw a moderate growth of 3.52% for 1-kanal plots, and 2.82% rise for 10-marla plots.

Sectors F-11 and E-11 continued their stable trends during the month. Sector F-11 saw 0.19% increase in prices of 1-kanal plots and a 0.09% fall in the prices of 10-marla plots.

Karachi

Bahria Town Karachi remained an exception for Karachi, with a sharp rise in prices overall. During the current period a sharp rise in the prices of 500-square-yard and 250-square-yard plots was seen at 4.04% and 5.74%, respectively.

Defence City Karachi saw the value of 250 square-yard options drop by 1.22%, whereas 500-square-yard plots stayed stable. Gulshan-e-Iqbal experienced similar trends with 500-square-yard options staying stable at 0.04% growth.

“This is the right time to invest in many projects that have seen a drop in rates,” said zameen.com CEO Zeeshan Ali Khan. “On the back of development projects, and better conditions in the country, I am sure investors will be able to walk away with big returns in the future if they act now.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2017.

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