Stable Property Prices in Last Quarter | InfoZonePK

StablePropert

Pakistan has had quite an eventful third quarter of the year 2014. With its political landscape witnessing the biggest twin sit-ins in the Federal Capital, the economic activity slowed down considerably.

Pakistan’s best real estate website, Lamudi.pk, set out to measure the impact of such activities on the real estate sector of Pakistan. Starting off with Islamabad, the very city where all the political protests took place, the property market has remained quite resilient.

Taking a look into the major areas of Islamabad, here are the results:

  • Sector E-11: Prices in most sub areas within the sector remained stagnant, but in E-11/3 they rose by around 7%
  • Sector B-17: Prices in Block B and C increased by approximately 4.5%, whereas in Block D and E they remained stable.
  • Bahria Town: Prices decreased due to shift of investment to Bahria Town Karachi and its Phase 7 & 8 lost 14.5% of their value.
  • DHA:4% increase in property value, mainly in its Phase 2
  • Sector G-13: Constant fluctuation in prices around the year, but prices have settled back to their original level as they were at the start of the year.

Analysis: Stagnant prices coupled with uncertainty regarding the political sit-ins had an adverse impact. However prices seem to be shifting back to their original state with prospects of the market picking up pace at the close of the year. Currently, promising sectors for investment include: E-11/3, DHA and B-17.

Moving on to the cultural capital of Pakistan, i.e. Lahore, following is the analysis:

  • DHA: Stagnant prices all around, a minimal of 1.6% rise with Phase 7 being the major contributor
  • Bahria Town: A rise of 3% in sector C, whereas rest of the sectors remained stagnant
  • State Life Housing Society: A rise of approximately 6% to 7% in its property prices
  • Lahore Cantt: Experienced both upward and downward fluctuations. Overall a 2% rise over the past 6 months.

Analysis: Lahore’s real estate sector remained stable somewhat with only a few minimal changes. Currently if you want to invest in the property sector of Lahore then go for plots in DHA Phase 6 & 7 or files of plots in Phase 9. Moreover, you can get good deals on 5 Marla houses in State Life Housing Society.

Lastly, coming to the metropolitan city of Pakistan, i.e. Karachi, here are the conclusions that we have drawn:

  • DHA: Phase 7 & 8 have observed a price hike in the past quarter for apartments with the highest 30% being recorded in Phase 8. With respect to demand for houses, Phase 6 grabbed the attention of investors and had a 16% price jump. Lastly, for plots, all phases of DHA have shown an increase in prices of 500 square yard plots.
  • Clifton: An increase in apartment prices was observed in all blocks of Clifton. Coming to the houses in Clifton, house prices have risen by only a little, with some blocks even showing a negative trend. For plots, except for block 9, prices remained stable or the fluctuation was very little around 5-10%.

Analysis: DHA maintains its dominance over Clifton majorly. For investing in plots in Karachi, it is the best time to invest in DHA, especially in its Phase 7 extension and Phase 8. For apartments, DHA Phase 4 and Phase 5 are best options for small families seeking affordable apartment, whereas its Phase 7 and Clifton are best for future investment. For houses, DHA Phase 7 is the best option for long term investment, while DHA’s Phase 4 and Clifton’s Block 4 are the best options for buying a medium family size house.

Overall, Pakistan’s real estate sector has maintained its calm, against all the political upheavals in the country and continues to be an investment haven for all the investors out there!