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Prices in real estate sector remain stable
By Our CorrespondentPublished: March 8, 2018
LAHORE: The real estate trends for the first couple of months of 2018 remained encouraging; prices did not witness any major dip in all mega cities of the country.
“The markets are relying on genuine buyers since the new tax regime scared investors,” said Mian Bilal Hanif, a Lahore-based expert in real estate markets.
“The government has announced an amnesty scheme and lowered property valuation but the damage has been done,” he added.However according to Zameen.com, a real estate portal, all four major cities, Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, and Gujranwala, experienced moderate changes and price stability.
Lahore
DHA Phases I-VI showed moderate growth for both 1-kanal and 10-marla plots. The price of 10-marla plots rose by 4.24%, and rates of 1-kanal plots increased by 4.74%. These phases have relatively high prices.
Similarly, DHA Phases VII-IX also experienced moderate rates of growth in their prices. Here, both investors and genuine buyers played a role. Prices of 10-marla plots increased 3.20%, while the rates of 1-kanal plots also rose by 4.86%.
For Bahria Town, price of 1-kanal appreciated by 1.05%, and 10-marla plots by 2.35%. The inauguration of the Lahore Ring Road Southern Loop cleared up investment uncertainty.
Due to the high rate of saturation in the locality, Wapda Town remained quite stable for both 10-marla and 1-kanal plots, with rates increasing by 0.96% and 0.20%, respectively.
Islamabad
Islamabad’s real estate market was stable for most societies. DHA Islamabad’s rates remained stable in January, with prices of 10-marla plots going up by 0.39%, and those of 1-kanal plots increasing by 0.70%.
In a similar case, Sector F-11 was quite stable. However, this stability has been constant due to the locality being saturated. The prices of 10-marla plots went up by 0.68%, while those of 1-kanal plots increased by 0.51%. Sector E-11 in the same vicinity also performed the same way. Here, rates of 10-marla plots went up by 0.08%, while those of 1-kanal plots went up by 0.52%. Bahria Town experienced moderate drops for both 1-kanal and 10-marla plots, at 3.86% and 2.20%, respectively.
Karachi
Karachi’s property market showcased mixed trends, with stability and moderate fluctuations in prices. DHA Karachi’s 250-square yard plot prices experienced a moderate growth of 1.04%, while 500-square-yard plots remained stable with an increase of 0.68%. Smaller plots sizes being more popular is an indication of genuine buyers showing interest in the society.
Thrown out on the street: Forced evictions from shops make traders feel insecure
DHA City Karachi experienced moderate growth for both 250 square yard and 500 square yard plots, whose prices increased by 2.20% and 1.69%, respectively. Relatively newer than other projects, and of interest to investors due to the undergoing development taking place there, the rates here are expected to increase more as the year progresses and construction of houses commences.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2018.
Realtors protest hike in tax on property transfer
The Newspaper’s Staff ReporterUpdated April 06, 2018
LAHORE: A number of property dealers and realtors blocked The Mall by staging a sit-in on Thursday against massive increase in taxes on the transfer of property.
Chanting slogans against the government, the realtors reached Charing Cross in groups and vowed to continue protest till bringing ratio of taxes to the level where it was two years ago.
“For the last two years we are almost without work, as the 200pc increase in taxes on the transfer of properties has marred the entire sale and purchase activities in Lahore. The genuine buyers, investors and realtors are in great problem just because of increased taxes,” Muhammad Usman, information secretary of the Lahore Property Association told Dawn.
The estate agents blocked the road after parking their vehicles and lashed out at the Punjab government while delivering speeches from trucks.
“We will only end our protest if the government announces bringing the property transfer rates as they were two years back,” said Iftikhar Ahmad, a realtor.
When police officials reached, the protesters had already occupied The Mall’s main intersection.
Though the police were equipped with water-canon and other tools to disperse the protesters, they preferred to engage the protesters in dialogue, avoiding use of force.
The district administration conveyed the demands of the protesters to the quarters concerned.
“The administration has conveyed all demands of the realtors (to the government), as it didn’t want any clash with them. Let see what happens,” an official told Dawn.
Meanwhile, city’s major roads again witnessed traffic congestion after the traffic police stopped motorists from accessing The Mall because of the protest.
Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2018
You can’t build a second floor in Karachi houses
April 4 | 2018 | Samaa Web Desk
People cannot build anything over a ground-plus-one floor structure on residential plots that are over 120-sq yards in Karachi.
The ban applies to plots located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulberg, Jamshed Town, Liaquatabad and Nazimabad. It will be effective until a government committee presents a report to the Supreme Court, said a notification Tuesday.
There is a severe housing shortage in Karachi and going up is the only way to tackle it. As Karachi has grown denser, the Sindh Building Control Authority has tried to clamp down on construction. Water, electricity and sewage infrastructure is strained.
A real estate agent said the ban is bad business for them.
In May 2017, the building authority had banned the construction of above ground plus two stories across Karachi. This affected high-rise construction of flats and the housing industry.
(An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted the SBCA saying that people cannot build anything over a ground plus one floor structure on 120-sq yard plots. The error is regretted.)
Published in Pakistan
Story first published: 4th April 2018$5 Billion Investment to Boost Pakistan Real Estate, as Major Developers Participate at the Dream Home Expo
Published April 24th, 2018 – 09:57 GMT
UAE-based BMS International Commercial Investment LLC, one of the Royal Group Companies of Sheikh Saeed Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, has shown interest in investing $3 billion in different economic sectors of Pakistan, with a focus on real estate.
Louai Mohammed Ali, chairman of BMS International Commercial Investment, made the commitment to invest in Pakistan’s real estate development, agriculture and fisheries, energy, hospitality and leisure, healthcare and education sectors.
In December 2017, Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris of Ora Developers and Pakistan’s Saif Group announced investing over $2 billion in real estate ventures in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s near-term outlook for economic growth is broadly favourable, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in a recent statement.
“Real GDP is expected to grow by 5.6 percent in FY 2017/18, supported by improved power supply, investment related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), strong consumption growth, and ongoing recovery in agriculture. Inflation has remained contained,” the IMF said in a statement in March 2018.
Total Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Pakistan surged 68.9 per cent to $4.45 billion in the nine months of FY2018, according to the central bank data.
With a population of almost 208 million people, Pakistan is suffering a shortage of 12 million houses, said a latest report. Karachi, with its behemothian population of 16.6 million, has an annual shortage of 300,000 houses.
Pakistan’s growing economy supported by its investment sector has remained instrumental to the country’s economic growth over the last five years. With a spend of about $5.2 billion on real estate construction backed up by price correction of up to 20 percent and major advancements in the overall industry dynamics, the property market has enabled strong returns among investors compared to other investment avenues.
Likewise, recent studies have indicated a significant move in the local real estate market of Pakistan towards overseas investment, being identified as one of the largest investors in the International Property Market. Pakistan’s property buyers have increasingly secured homes and investment in Europe, GCC, Canada and UK.
Global real estate transaction value reached $698 billion in 2017, 6 percent above the total transacted in 2016, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate advisory. Pakistani investors represented a good chunk of this.
Pakistani nationals have invested Dh24.98 billion in Dubai’s real estate through 19,955 transactions in the last four years (2014-2017), according to Dubai Land Department (DLD) making them the third largest non-Arab investor group by nationality.
DOME Exhibitions in collaboration with Pakistan’s leading media house Jang Media Group is back this year to bring the International Real Estate Investment opportunities in the heart of Pakistan with its much-awaited participation at the Dream Home Expo, Pakistan’s leading property and investment exhibition.
“Pakistanis and Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRP) alike have increasingly been investing within Pakistan and in international markets. Such investors have made their mark in countries across the world, acquiring not just investments but also citizenship opportunities through various investment programs,” said Antoine Georges, Managing Director of DOME Exhibitions, International Pavilion organizer of the exhibition.
Sarmad Ali, Managing Director of Jang Group commented, “Dream Home Expo creates a diversified platform that bridges the gap between exhibitors and buyers through specialized offers, property showcases and varied investment prospects in Pakistan. Moreover, the International Real Estate and Investment Show draw an added participation from international real estate leaders, attracting high-net worth investors to explore not just the country but also different countries in Europe, Asia and the GCC.”
Set to bring the best that the region has to offer, Jang Media Group, the organizer of “Dream Home Expo” from 11-13 May at the Pak-China Friendship Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan. This year’s International Real Estate segment will play as host to global property developers, real estate brokerage and investment companies from Europe, Canada, UK, USA, Cyprus and UAE in one platform to cater to home owners and real estate investors from the country and around the world. As many as 30,000 people are expected to visit the show. Agents will also showcase Residency & Citizenship by investment options in countries including UK, Canada, Australia and Europe to offer Pakistanis diverse citizenship and residency possibilities that will enable benefits such as visa-free travels across the globe, their spouses and dependent children.
International Real Estate and Investment Show (IREIS) Islamabad will also serve as a comprehensive meeting place where high net worth individuals, real estate leaders and global companies can meet to discuss the latest trends and best practices across the local, regional and international level on the industry.
“The International Real Estate and Investment Show is the perfect venue for investors and aspiring individuals to find the right investment opportunity in the comfort of Islamabad. Visitors can look forward to expertly advise from the country’s financing houses, real estate developers and agents who will guide them throughout the decision and purchases process,” concluded Georges.
Table
Investment by Pakistani Nationals in Dubai’s real estate
Low-cost housing needs $180b to meet Pakistan’s shortage
By Bilal HussainPublished: May 6, 2018
KARACHI: As Pakistan experiences rapid population growth, the need for low-cost housing units is greater than ever before.
While official estimates put the shortage at 10 million units, which increases every year, funds required to finance the gap are a whopping $180 billion – almost half the size of Pakistan’s economy.
“A low-cost, but respectable unit would have a price tag of at least Rs2.1 million,” Mohsin Sheikhani, patron and former chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), told The Express Tribune. “There’s a desperate need to provide houses for low-income groups as it has multiple benefits including improving law and order.”
ABAD is currently hosting a three-day property expo at the Pak-China Friendship Centre in Islamabad, where it is pitching its affordable housing scheme. Sheikhani said land for the project has been finalised near Fateh Jhang road, 12 kilometers away from the new airport.
Sheikhani broke down the Rs 2.1 million figure, saying that Rs400,000 would be spent on land and development, while another Rs1,500 per square feet would be required for construction for each 120-square-yard plot. Another Rs200,000 would be spent on government fees and management cost.
“A 120-square-yard house can last 15 to 20 years. They can expand the house both vertically and horizontally as and when required.”
On the other hand, Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company (PMRC) Managing Director and CEO N K Rupan said property development needs to be regulated in a bid to encourage housing units for low-income groups. Rupan cited the example Malaysia that regulated the sector in 1966.
“There is a huge demand for low-cost houses, but development only adds high-end units.
“Low interest rates on mortgage is the only way to address the crisis. Unfortunately, mortgages in Pakistan account for only 0.5 per cent of its GDP while India’s mortgage-to-GDP ratio stands at 10 per cent and Malaysia’s is at 30 per cent.”
According to a research reported by a section of the media, only 1 per cent of the housing units developed annually cater to 68 per cent of Pakistan’s total population, comprising of people who earn a maximum monthly income of Rs30,000. Meanwhile, it is also said that 56 per cent of the housing units constructed during the year caters to a market representing 12 per cent of Pakistan’s population that earns above Rs100,000.
Different governments in the past have announced low-cost housing schemes, but substantial progress on any front is yet to be seen.
It is said that 50 per cent of Pakistan’s population resides in shanty towns. Karachi alone has 562 such towns in the city.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2018.
Shake-up in the property market
Afshan Subohi Updated May 07, 2018
Enveloped in a pall of gloom, the property market is not expected to return to normalcy till the next elected government has settled comfortably in Islamabad after elections later this year.
The market has been down by about 15 per cent since January 2018 and activity level is low. Realtors fear the market will dip vertically by up to 50pc if parliament clears the proposed budget without ensuring the recommended changes in the real estate package.
“The present changes can generate panic and kick-start a reverse spiral, driving genuine clients along with investors out of the market”, said Shaban Illahi, president, Pakistan Real Estate Investment Forum.
The Budget 2018-19 presented in the last week of April included several measures to bring order in Pakistan’s real estate sector which is a destination known for parking ill-gotten money and has been instrumental in increasing the size of the informal economy by pushing legal capital into a grey area.
To this end, the government has proposed abolishing the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) rates on property, requested provinces to end DC rates and barred non-filers from buying property exceeding a value of Rs4 million. At the federal level, the advance tax has been cut to one per cent of the declared value.
However, through a buy-back scheme the government is vested with the power to buy individual properties anywhere within six months of registration for double the registered price in fiscal 2018-19, 75pc higher in 2019-20 and 50pc greater in 2020-21 and thereafter.
Besides the industry which has long been demanding regularisation of the property business, tax experts have also strongly supported the government’s changes. Shabbar Zaidi, Senior partner and chairman, AF Ferguson & Co called property related measures ‘landmark’, ‘long overdue’ and ‘defining’. He was happy that the correction in this key sector had been attempted.
The property market in Pakistan has grown exponentially over the past three decades, pushing housing beyond the reach of middle-class couples starting a family. But the recent Bahria town court ruling along with the government’s moves seem to indicate the market is heading towards a significant shakeup and correction.
“The Supreme Court verdict last week baring Bahria Town Karachi from selling plots after declaring the land acquisition process illegal signals the direction towards which things will be moving. It can prove to be the beginning of the end game for powerful land barons who have operated with impunity in this sector for too long”, commented an observer requesting anonymity.
Movers and shakers in the humongous, chaotic property and construction business claim that the government’s decisions may prove counterproductive to getting property dealings back in the fold of the formal economy.
Suppressing fears many leaders of real estate operators and the construction industry made an effort to give a positive spin to the situation.
“The gap between the market and Continued on declared value of the property is problematic as it is a critical factor for potential foreign investment in the sector. We operate perfectly legally and still end up contributing to the grey economy. In 2016 an understanding with the government was achieved to gradually close the gap between the market and declared price of land.
“Instead of following up on the plan the government is getting new ideas. With a stroke of the pen, it threw the past plan in the dustbin and introduced the buy-back scheme to keep people from understating the value of land transactions. Is this not a breach of trust?” asked Raja Mazhar Hussain, President, Defence and Clifton Association of Real Estate Agents in Karachi.
Builders supported the realtors. “A substantial portion of the country’s remittances are invested in the property sector by non-resident Pakistanis. By banning non-filers, the government has closed a viable investment option for them.
“These people file returns in their country of residence. To become filers they will have to stay in Pakistan for 180 days. How many people settled abroad can do that?” asked Hasan Bakshi, a senior leader of Association of Builders and Developers.
“I don’t’ see why NICOP cannot be used as a National Tax Number, saving overseas Pakistanis the trouble of double filing returns”, he argued.
Responding to a Dawn query in this regard Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said, “Overseas Pakistanis who wish to buy property in Pakistan will have to file tax returns in Pakistan. However, we will make the procedure easy for them. It would benefit them immensely as it will also save them an extra cost on bank transactions”.
Property dealers in some cities of Punjab have already taken their discontent to the streets. According to informed quarters if the government fails to respond swiftly, the protests encouraged by the government’s political opponents can spread across the country.
Commenting on the comparative calm in Karachi, the protest capital of the country, Syed S Haider, CEO of VIP Estate and 21st Century commented:
“We were assured by the finance minister in Karachi that our concerns on the ban on non-filers from entering the housing and plots market, rules of value evaluation, the buy-back scheme that empowers the government to purchase any property within six months and the insufficiently narrow window for the amnesty scheme will be addressed”.
Many operators fear a major market shake-up.
“Prices will tank evaporating value in billions of rupees. Buyers and sellers will exit and wait for the market to stabilise. It will not just hurt people directly associated with the property business but all those working in the 72 construction related industries. The multiplier effect will be immense”, remarked another kingpin of the sector.
Many associations shared documents detailing their budget recommendations and copies of their correspondence with the relevant departments.
“If pushed carelessly this move can become a debacle of similar proportions to the dollar account freeze. The decision on foreign currency accounts in 1998 was a cardinal sin of PML-N that can neither be forgotten nor forgiven. Even PML-N leaders accept that it hurt more than it helped the country”, a leading realtor spew venom.
The property market in Pakistan has proved to be the most lucrative investment destination for the past three decades. The mouthwatering returns combined with low tax and valuation absorb a major chunk of investable capital seeking quick returns.
“No one is asking for a legal cover for unethical practices but if realtors and builders’ fair concerns are summarily dismissed the festering dissatisfaction can find violent expression in an already charged, polarised environment.”, an articulate leader of a realtors association warned pointing out numerous anomalies in the package.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, May 7th, 2018
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