Factors Contributing to Soaring Demand for Vertical Residences in Lahore

It will not be an exaggeration to say that Lahore is almost stretched to its capacity now. The limits of the historic city are marked and the government is curbing unplanned expansion. However, the demand for the city to accommodate more people every day is nowhere near slowing down. You could attribute the reason behind it to Lahore being able to offer better healthcare and educational facilities. There are job opportunities here that are not easily available in rural areas or towns. This and several other factors are pressuring the city administrators to come up with better answers to the concerns created by this population increase.

An obvious and immediate solution was to shift to vertical expansion and ditch single-unit houses to bridge the growing housing gap. The demand for vertical residences in Lahore has increased, and this trend is here to stay. Following in the footsteps of Karachi, Lahore is moving into apartments and in this article, we shall explore a few top reasons why the apartment lifestyle is becoming so popular in Lahore.

Much More Feasible Locations

The horizontal housing schemes are moving further and further into the suburbs of Lahore, where the mere thought of commute is enough to give buyers a pause. Contrarily, vertical residences in Lahore are located in established central areas, where the buyers have easy access to all the urban conveniences like banks, schools, universities, offices, retail outlets, and eateries. Most buyers tend to favor already established settlements to buy a home, so they are closer to their workplace/school and amenities that secure a peaceful lifestyle for them. This is one of the reasons that neighborhoods, like Gulberg, are high in demand.

Recommended Projects

• Gulberg City Centre (Main Boulevard Gulberg)
• Swiss Mall (MM Alam Road)
• Madison Square Mall (Mehmood Kasuri Road)
• Amanah Mall Serviced Apartments (Model Town Link Road)

Irresistible Rental Yield, Capital Gains Projections

Both genuine buyers and investors chase after the profit margins being offered by vertical mixed-use projects as these figures surpass any figure that one can rely on with horizontal housing units. A single-house unit pays off an annual rental yield of not more than 6%, but vertical residences offer investors up to 12% rental yield estimates.

The same is true when it comes to capital gains. Due to the central location and luxurious amenities of apartment projects, the buyers can maximize their profits by 50-60% in the medium term, as opposed to less than 20% average expected gains suburban houses offer.

Recommended Projects

• Gulberg City Centre (10% guaranteed rental yield for a decade)
• Madison Square Mall (10-12% guaranteed rental yield on hotel suites)

Affordable Price Tags, Easy Payment Plans

An average single-unit house in Lahore has escalated in prices so high over the years that the average Pakistani can hardly purchase them on cash. Even though the government’s housing finance subsidy scheme (aka Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar) aimed at reducing this gap. It turned out that the practical implications of the financing scheme and the volatile cost of construction rendered the project unfeasible. The apartment projects, on the other hand, offer an affordable alternative to this dilemma.

Apartment buyers can get 1, 2, and 3-bedroom flats for lower prices than it would cost to get a house.  Moreover, most apartment projects come with easy payment plans, enabling buyers to afford their units over years’ worth of instalments. It is also a profitable option, since by the time the payment plan completes, the prices of units get escalated, offering handsome returns in terms of capital gains and annual rental yields.  In addition, Zameen.com has many projects on board where you can get possession of your property years before the payment completes.

Recommended Projects

• Beach Resort By Icon (pay in 12.5 years, get possession in 5 years)
• 102 By Icon (pay in 5 years, get possession in 2.5 years)
• Madison Square (for commercial outlets: pay in 3.5 years, get possession in 1.5 years
• Amanah Noor Residence
• Central Park Townhouses

A Whole Lot of In-House Amenities

Unlike most houses, contemporary apartment projects come with facilities that are either uncommon or too pricy to be accommodated in single-unit accommodations. The modern apartment complexes offer security surveillance, in-house maintenance, fitness centres, grocery outlets, mini-cinemas, eateries, recreational spaces, coffee bars, and even shopping malls. Some luxury projects even go above and beyond and offer housekeeping, concierge, valet services and other facilities that are hard to come by in suburban houses. 

Recommended Projects

• T-Square
• Residence 15
• Swiss Mall (MM Alam Road)
• Zameen Quadrangle

An Irresistible Community Appeal

Apartment complexes are envisioned as vertical communities where neighbours interact and share the same community experiences if they should so desire. Not to get us wrong, there is still plentiful privacy afforded by the tenants of these buildings, however, they also have an element of society and community appeal which ensures that people engage in meaningful interactions. The same is missing in horizontal communities where the neighbourhood appeal almost doesn’t exist.

The availability of shared spaces like residents’ lounge, library, gymnasium and sports facilities, pool, and rooftop area in vertical communities bring people together to offer a true community appeal.

Recommended Projects

• Zameen Quadrangle
• Beach Resort by Icon
• Gulberg City Centre