LAHORE: Owing to the general unrest in Pakistan since the start of anti-government sit-ins in the Federal Capital Islamabad, the entire real estate sector of the country has struggled with activity that is significantly less than usual.
The state of affairs in the property markets of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad are presenting a familiar picture. The lack of activity has had an effect on prices since the beginning, and this phenomenon is continuing, according to statistics of a property portal.
As per analysis about stats for August 2014, the average price for 1-kanal plots in DHA Lahore gained only a minute 1.09 percentage since July, while the same-sized plots in Bahria Town Lahore came down 1.90 percent.
One-kanal plots in LDA Avenue I also struggled, losing 1.85% of their average value, and the high-flying Lahore Cantt gained only a sobering 0.26%.
On the housing front, Lahore Cantt came top of the table with an average sale price of Rs36.29 million for a 1-kanal home, while DHA Lahore was in second place with an average sale price of Rs 34.45 million for 1-kanal homes. Johar Town maintained the highest rental yield among popular localities in Lahore with 5.02%.
Karachi’s real estate market also felt the heat from cautious investors holding back until things calm down on the political front. While genuine buyers in established societies kept the market from coming to a complete standstill, under-development projects that depend heavily on investors suffered declines in prices.
As a result, 1-kanal plots in DHA Karachi and Gulistan-e-Jauhar gained 2.10% and 2.72% respectively in value month-on-month, but prices in DHA City Karachi came down 9.40% in the same time span. However, this trend is unlikely to continue in the long term and prices in places like DHA City Karachi should stabilise once the country’s unstable political situation is resolved. Prices in Gulshan-e-Iqbal remained stable, losing only a minute 0.23%.
Islamabad real estate suffered the most from prevailing political situation in the federal capital.However, the silver lining to this cloud has been the fact that barring Bahria Town Islamabad – where 1-kanal plots lost 11.51% of their value month-on-month – most popular localities in the capital have suffered very small declines in prices.
One-kanal plots in the highly popular and equally expensive Sector F-11 lost 0.31% of their value over the same time period, while DHA Islamabad and Sector E-11 lost 1.86% and 0.64% respectively.
Islamabad’s housing market faredbetter, with home prices in the city’s top localities exhibiting great stability. On average, a 1-kanal home in Sector F-11 went for Rs 63.62 million and had an average monthly rent of Rs 188,542. Sectors E-11 and G-11, both popular locations for homes, also maintained their price trends month-on-month.
Until the situation in Islamabad takes a turn for the better, it is unlikely that market activity will resume with full fervour. However, the numbers are not painting as bleak a picture as expected.
“With the exception of Islamabad, where the situation isn’t too bad either in my opinion, the general numbers from across Pakistan are bracing rather than frightening,” said Zeeshan Ali Khan, the CEO and Co-Founder of a property portal.
“We keep a very close eye on the market at all times, and we’ve just as closely monitored the situation during this political instability. I suppose things could have been far worse, and we should be grateful that they are not,” he added.