The real estate market during Q1 2017 showed some improvements from last year. However, for the month of April, there was a mixed picture with increases in some places and decreases in others. The upcoming budget has been a factor behind investor inactivity – even though there’s still time before the budget rolls in.
Lahore clung to stability and exhibited some interesting trends. Bahria Town, along with Bahria Orchard, does not seem to have found much activity. Its issues in Sector F may be the reason for price drops in some areas.
The capital remained more or less stable with Bahria Town standing out with moderate growth. Sector B-17 performed exceedingly well with an overall sharp rise. Sectors F-11 and E-11 are yet to recover from last year’s post-tax drops.
Gwadar has pulled away some activity from Karachi. Despite this, April saw Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) continue its ascend with decent growth. DHA City Karachi (DCK) also experienced moderate growth, but its growth was not comparable to that of BTK.
In Gujranwala, DHA Gujranwala stood out with a 6.31% increase in the prices of 1-kanal plots. Other than this, projects like Master City and Citi Housing remained stable. DC Colony continued its downward spiral because of its issues with the Cantt Board.
LAHORE
Prices did not show too much fluctuation in the first five phases of DHA Lahore. Phase VII saw a drop in investment activity, and Phase VIII experienced similar patterns. Within DHA Lahore, Phase IX alone stood out with price hikes.
Wapda Town did not experience many fluctuations because of its saturation levels.
Bahria Town has remained more or less stable for 1-kanal plots with genuine buyers taking a back seat. The situation was no better with 10-marla plots, which registered a moderate drop of 1.19%. The Sector F issue has influenced the situation to an extent.
The sharp rise that Bahria Orchard experienced during Q1 came to an end as prices experienced a sharp drop in April. This is largely because of short-term investors that were trading for short-term profits and not for long-term gains.
LDA Avenue I experienced a moderate drop of 1.92% for 1-kanal plots and 1.06% for 10-marla plots. The upcoming budget along with the society’s litigation issues are possible causes.
ISLAMABAD
Sector F-11 remained stable during April, just as it did during almost all of Q1 2017. The tax changes from last year still appear to be having an impact and investors are yet to return in full swing to the capital city. Sector E-11 experienced similar trends.
DHA Islamabad remained stable at 0.62% and 0.87% for 1-kanal and 10-marla, respectively. There were fewer buyers in the market; however, the situation is expected to improve after Eid.
During April, Bahria Town stood out in the capital with relatively better performance. It experienced moderate growth of 1.76% for 1-kanal plots, and 1.90% for 10-marla plots. Both genuine buyers and investors are active in the locality because property prices are relatively low.
Sector B-17 enjoyed a sharp rise for both 1-kanal and 10-marla plots. During April, this trend cooled a bit and landed the locality into a pattern of moderate growth. The pace of development work has increased, which could lead to price hikes in the future.
There is little development taking place in Gulberg Residencia, which is part of the reason prices have fallen in the locality.
KARACHI
Many investors are waiting for the next budget to see how the realty market’s situation unfolds. Gwadar is another reason why the market has not performed all too well in the city.
DHA Karachi remained stable for both 1-kanal and 10-marla plots. The prices did experience a very mild dip, but there were no substantial issues to report. DCK on the other hand, experienced moderate growth for 1-kanal plots, but stayed stable for 10-marla options.
BTK is the rising star in the city’s realty market. Despite the number of investors Gwadar has attracted towards itself, it seems that nothing can stop BTK’s rise. Development continued at an extremely fast pace, which in turn helped the society register a 4.35% moderate growth for 1-kanal plots and 3.65% moderate growth for 10-marla plots. Gulshan-e-Iqbal as always remained stable because of its high levels of saturation.
GUJRANWALA
Gujranwala’s market has not seen impressive activity overall. The only exception was DHA Gujranwala, which continued its sharp rise story from Q1 with another 6.31% increase in the prices of 1-kanal plots in April. On the other hand, 10-marla plots only experienced moderate growth. Citi Housing similarly remained stable with little boosts in investment activity.
Of the different projects in the city, DC Colony has the least impressive stats. During Q1 the society experienced sharp drops for both 1-kanal and 10-marla plots. The month of April saw similar trends with the rates of 1-kanal plots seeing another 4.42% fall, and 10-marla plots seeing a drop of 5.65%. These trends are unlikely to change till the society manages to figure out its problems with the Cantt board.
Master City has been undergoing development. The upcoming budget might have an impact on the society, but for now, the society is stable.
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Hi Samra,
What sort of impact Master City Gujranwala will face in the upcoming budget?
Please share the details. Thanks So Much.
Thanks for this analysis. What is the source of the data?