ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Saeed Ahmad has said that house financing in Pakistan is less than half a per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) which is one of the lowest in the world.
Saeed Ahmad said this, while addressing a two-day international conference on “Affordable Housing and Mortgage Finance”, organised by the SBP. He said that the country is currently facing a shortfall of 9 million housing units and each year there is need for 600,000 units, but only 300,000 units are constructed.
Expert speakers on housing finance from within the country and the world are participating in the event. Ahmad stressed the need for bringing innovation in the existing system and increasing the outreach of housing finance to low and middle income groups.
Federal Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani, who chaired the inaugural session, called for provision of affordable housing and mortgage finance to cope with rapid urbanisation.
In his address, SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra shared the central bank’s policy framework for enhancing the flow of financial services to middle and low income groups. “In the absence of a sound and vibrant housing finance system, we can expect the situation to further deteriorate,” he said.
