DHA Lahore announces development charges for Prism 9

DHA Phase IX, also known as Prism 9, is the most happening of all DHA phases at the moment. It mainly serves investors who not only possess enough holding power but are also patient enough to wait for a couple of years to see their investment mature to the fullest. For short term investors, however, it looks like the time to bail out has come as DHA has announced Phase IX’s development charges. According to sources, the intimation letter will be sent to plot owners soon.

The development charges are as follows:

These charges have to be paid over a period of 3 years (12 quarterly instalments). If the intimation letter is received by December 2015, the first instalment has to be paid in January 2016. For every delayed instalment, there is fine of PKR 80 per day.

The general market sentiment suggests that plot owners with less holding power are likely to sell their Prism 9 plots in order to avoid paying the development charges. This influx of plots in market will, of course, affect their rates, bringing them down by approximately 15%.

When will development commence?

As this phase is rather big, many people assumed that development would take at least 10 years, because of which several investors chose to sell their plots soon once property rates had reached their highest after balloting. Well, we have news for these folks!

Development work in Phase IX is very likely to begin in November this year. If that happens, and DHA makes an official announcement in this regard, those who own plots in Prism 9 should have even more of a reason to pay their development charges rather than sell their property.

We have also learnt that DHA is interested in developing this phase in the coming 3 to 4 years and hand over property possession as promptly as possible. Whenever the authority makes this news public, the debate around development charges will subside and there will be a jump in the rates of Prism 9 property instead.

To sell or not to sell?

Selling Prism 9 plots is simply not advisable right at the moment. We are all aware of the fact that no news about DHA is authentic news unless it is disseminated officially by the authority. If DHA doesn’t announce the initiation of Prism 9’s development work by the beginning of 2016, paying the development charges may be an additional burden to some.

If you just cannot afford to pay the development charges, you must sell your plot before many others attempt to sell theirs, as the influx of these plots will bring the market value of plots down.

Those who enjoy enough holding power should take a look at the rates of property in DHA 9 Town, also known as Shuhada Town, for inspiration. Note that the average rate of 5-marla and 10-marla plots in 9 Town is PKR 5,300,000 and PKR 9,000,000, respectively.

Property rates in Prism 9 have the potential to increase by another 50% in about one year or so. So, we advise the plot owners to stay put. For short-term investment, purchasing property in Prism 9 in the first quarter of 2016 (if DHA doesn’t announce the development work) would be a good move.

Note: The information quoted in this article is obtained from Rehmat Estate (Pvt) Ltd CEO Mr Rehmat Manzoor. He can get reached at +92-323-882-9003 for direct communication.