In This Post:
Shortfall of Housing Units
Misinformation About Real Estate Sector
Less Awareness of Technology and Its Benefits
Limited Real Estate Educational Resources
Absence of Real Estate Regulatory Authority
Letting investors enjoy high-profit margins on their short-term as well as long-term property investments, Pakistan’s real estate industry is touted as one of the most lucrative sectors of the country. It also contributes a sizable portion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With many new and state-of-the-art projects now being launched, not only local but also overseas investors have started taking a keen interest in the real estate market, which is causing property prices to go further up in recent years.
Despite such an immense rate of progress, like any other field, the property sector of Pakistan also faces challenges. These issues may negatively impact the performance of almost all the key stakeholders of the industry in different ways, which often cause unsuspected delays in the development and launch of real estate ventures.
Delayed delivery of housing projects could cause investors to lose both trust and interest in property investment opportunities, causing real estate businesses to suffer. The trust factor between investors and stakeholders is what keeps all the property and construction businesses afloat and progressing. It is a very important yet sensitive matter to deal with.
In this blog, we are going to discuss the most common real estate problems in Pakistan and find out how the government and Zameen.com—the country’s most reliable digital property portal—are working in their domains to solve all these major challenges.
The Most Common Real Estate Problems in Pakistan (and Their Solutions)
Here are some of the major challenges and opportunities for Pakistan’s real estate market in 2021.
- Shortfall of Housing Units
- Misinformation About Real Estate Sector
- Less Awareness of Technology and Its Benefits
- Limited Real Estate Educational Resources
- Growing Need for Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in Pakistan
Shortfall of Housing Units
The housing crisis has become major in Pakistan in recent years due to the ever-increasing population. According to a report published in 2019, Pakistan was facing a backlog of around 10.3 million housing units in both urban and rural areas. The housing shortage figure is expected to go further up to 17.4 million by 2025.
However, the current government has taken some serious initiatives to sort out the housing crisis in the country to some extent. The most noteworthy development in this regard is the launch of the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Under this scheme, the government is providing low-cost housing solutions to bridge the gap between demand and supply of residential units across the country. The target of this government-run low-cost housing project is to construct five million affordable houses. People belonging to labour class, lower-middle-class, and middle-class families are all eligible to apply for the housing programme. So, if you are also willing to apply for the Naya Pakistan Housing Project, check out this blog for all the latest updates.
Another very prominent initiative taken by the federal government is the launch of the ‘Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar’ scheme in collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Also known as the ‘Apna Ghar Sasta Karz’ scheme, it is a markup subsidy programme that aims to provide housing loans at low markup rates.
Almost every popular commercial bank has been taken onboard by the SBP to make this scheme available across the entire country. Along with physical helpdesks, there is also an online portal available for the assistance of the general public. If you want to learn more about the ‘Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar’ scheme, read our detailed guide on it.
Misinformation About Real Estate Sector
Back in the old days, to gauge the progress and profitability factor of the investment opportunities available in the real estate sector, a lot of people relied on word of mouth. There were not any reliable resources available to fetch relevant information back then.
However, with the turn of the 21st century, things were improved a lot with the help of technological innovations. Launched as a one-room startup, Zameen.com was one of the very first high-tech and state-of-the-art online property platforms in the country. With the untiring efforts of years, It sorted out all the information available and put it online for anyone to access in a very refined and easy-to-comprehend manner.
Online tools like Zameen.com’s Price Index and Search Trends keep you up-to-date with the fluctuating rates and performances of property markets in almost all the major cities of Pakistan. These cutting-edge tools are helping us to put an end to the concept of misinformation and eradicate other ill practices like property scams, allowing real estate stakeholders to regain the trust of their clients.
Less Awareness of Technology and Its Benefits
Technology is rapidly transforming the world around us. Unfortunately, the real estate industry of Pakistan still lags behind when it comes to the usage of technology. A lot of people aren’t aware of the latest tools and their benefits so they avoid using them.
As an industry leader, Zameen.com is making all possible efforts to generalise the use of technology in the local property market. For instance, it has recently launched Plot Finder. The first-ever tool in Pakistan that has mapped out entire societies and real estate developments available in many major cities across the country.
Along with introducing tools to benefit property buyers and investors, Zameen.com has also launched a digital platform known as ‘Zameen Affiliates Network’ to help real estate professionals and agents grow as a network. With a mobile app and an online portal known as ‘PropForce’, this platform is helping thousands of individuals across the country to diversify their portfolios and grab big opportunities.
Using drone cameras to provide a complete physical overview of the property location is another great way to use technology to market your property projects. For example, you can take a look at the playlist of Zameen Property Tours on our YouTube channel. See how professionally, the latest photography and videography technologies have been used in these videos including drone cameras.
Zameen Property Tours allow viewers to take an up-close look at the properties and real estate projects they are interested to invest in. All this is just the tip of the iceberg, the possibilities are endless when it comes to using the technological advancements of the modern world to benefit our local property market.
Limited Resources for Real Estate Education
You would hardly come across a certified or qualified real estate professional in Pakistan. Most of the individuals are running this business only on the basis of their experience. Having educated and certified property agents in the market will make a whole lot of difference. With having proper knowledge of the industry, realty professionals could make the best possible use of their skills to harness the true potential of the property sector.
In the wake of the digital revolution that the property market has witnessed in recent years, there has been an increase in the demand for qualified real estate agents. As of now, the Panjwani Institute of Business Studies and Technology (PIBSAT) and the National Institute of Real Estate Management (NIREM) are the only two well-known establishments offering real estate courses in the country. To learn more about the training programmes and educational courses offered by these institutes for real estate education in Pakistan, read this blog.
Also, we need to set up more similar state-of-the-art platforms to promote the concept of real estate education among locals as well as to expand its scope, which is imperative to modernise the real estate sector of the country.
Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in Pakistan
With the absence of a proper body regulating a particular sector, it will always be prone to different kinds of problems and issues. The real estate industry, which is one of the largest business sectors of the country, still awaits the formation of a regulatory authority that would govern it.
“If you talk about legal issues related to real estate, there is no regulatory authority here. A regulatory authority should be created,” the CEO of EMPG Imran Ali Khan stated in an interview. His words clearly emphasised the importance and need for the creation of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Pakistan.
Back in 2019, there was a report published by a renowned English newspaper of the country, according to which, the federal authorities had finalized the Real Estate Regulation and Development Bill 2019. It was the elementary framework for the formation of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in Pakistan.
However, no progress has been made so far. We hope necessary actions would soon be taken by the government for the formation of RERA, which is expected to act as a legal consultation/advisory wing of the government in all matters related to the real estate industry.
Let us know what you think about all the aforementioned real estate problems and their solutions by emailing us at blog@zameen.com. You can also get in touch with us if you are seeking any advice for real estate investment in Pakistan. We’d be glad to assist you with your concerns using our skills and expert knowledge of the field.
For the most informative property pieces and best real estate blogs in Pakistan, keep reading Zameen Blog. To keep track of all the latest property, lifestyle, and home decor trends in the country, subscribe to our newsletter.
COVER IMAGE CREDITS: SHUTTERSTOCK
