Regulation required: Faisalabad’s real estate boom

Growth of housing colonies driving up prices

FAISALABAD: As real estate sector becomes lucrative for investors, thousands of people who want to migrate from suburban areas are finding it difficult to procure land in the country’s third largest city, Faisalabad, due to unchecked increase in prices in recent years.

With the extension of the city, many local and foreign investors have jumped into real estate business to make money. According to real estate experts, recent years have proven to be most fruitful for real estate investors. But rising costs has made it all the more difficult for new entrants to settle down.

The growth of new high end housing colonies has created avenues of investment, said Rehman Ali, a builder, while talking to The Express Tribune. “Many builders are also renting units after construction, since many people who want to shift to Faisalabad cannot afford to buy a home.”

According to property advisors, overseas Pakistanis are also investing in the real estate business.

In the last census of 1998, Faisalabad’s population was estimated at 2.1 million, which according to unofficial estimates, has now grown to 8 million people.

During the last decade, many adjoining rural areas of Faisalabad have been converted into urban centres.

“In 2008, the price of agriculture land was approximately Rs1 million per acre around the city but has now reached to Rs20 to Rs30 million, depending on the location,” said Haider Ali, a developer.

The farmers who are selling an acre of agriculture land around the city can now buy 10 acres of agriculture land in rural areas, he added.

The builders and the investors are not the only ones making money, farmers too are getting higher prices for their agriculture land, helping them change their life style, Ali added.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.