For many nuclear families, affording a house is no longer feasible. And this has become increasingly difficult, lately, due to a number of reasons. For Lahore in particular, the additional cost required to make the city’s suburbs suitable for living hasn’t served its true purpose. Not to mention the fact that Lahore is currently close to imploding – what with its uncontrolled population growth, and its severe shortage of accommodation space!
This problem calls for fixing the standard approach, which normally led to project development within the city. The thought, thankfully for many, also slithered into the minds of the higher authorities concerned. The Lahore Master Plan 2040 has been designed in keeping with a revised approach: one which addresses all of the issues mentioned. It is intended to bring about vertical development in the city.
How will this trend help Lahore?
The effective management and distribution of resources within the city currently require confinement. This concern becomes even more pressing when it comes to equipping citizens with the residential facilities required for basic living.
Despite the fact that thousands of people own plots in societies located in the suburbs of Lahore, most of these landholdings remain uninhabited. This indicates one thing; people want to live closer to the city’s central parts.
Addition of vertical residential options in the city’s central zones will address the demand part of this issue. It will also help the government to save a large number of funds; which would otherwise have been required to provide infrastructural facilities and utilities to far-flung areas.
What are some of the major concerns associated?
While Lahoris take their time in embracing an ‘apartment lifestyle’, they also have some major concerns to deal with. Ownership of land is a prominent part of these. Because an apartment, for many, doesn’t classify as ‘land’, and this supposedly puts their investments at stake.
In addition, the idea of sharing a residential complex with others brings along privacy concerns. And many people mind sharing the facilities available within the compound with others. Some are not willing to sever their existing neighbourhood connections – which they may have formed over several generations.
How are developers addressing these issues?
Many developers have addressed the ‘land ownership’ side of the equation. For this end, they share the registry of land among the existing buyers in an appropriate ratio. Because of this innovation, many potential buyers now consider it safe to invest in an apartment.
The privacy concern is being resolved through the introduction of intelligent floor plans which limit unauthorised access to respective building floors. Furthermore, the presence of gates and walled apartment complexes – with monitored entry and exit points – also makes apartments much safer than houses to reside in.
The benefits!
Not many traditional houses come with a swimming pool or a gaming room, but almost all new apartment projects do. Unique features like a maintained rooftop with limited access, well-kept lawns, and a host of other services also prove enough to tempt buyers.
Since most of these projects have just been launched, you can purchase an apartment on instalments at introductory rates.
Be the early bird – and win big!
The future of property in Lahore belongs to vertical developments – that’s for certain.
Compared with similar projects in Islamabad and Karachi, the prices demanded currently are quite low. Many property experts believe that an apartment lifestyle will find acceptance sooner than expected. This trend also indicates that new projects will offer units at much higher rates.
By way of a commonly observed principle, prices generally increase when development work (on a project) enters its successive phases. Furthermore, developers always launch new inventory at higher rates when working on the same project.
In recent months, the property gurus at Zameen.com have noticed that selling an apartment in Lahore has become much easier. With more developers queued up to introduce their projects in the near future, you can be an early bird. By choosing to invest now, you can expect to reap great returns in a medium to long-term period
If you have any thoughts to share on this article, please write them down in the comments section below. As always, we would be thrilled to hear from you.
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Samra Zulfiqar
Samra Zulfiqar, a real estate analyst at Zameen.com, is passionate about finding projects that offer buyers the best returns. Her keen insights spotlight the market’s most promising opportunities.
