Analysing the impact of Margalla Road’s construction on B-17

Islamabad: Recently, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) revealed that it had settled the long-standing dispute with the contractor for the Margalla Road construction project. The contract dates back to 2012. It further announced its decision to invite expressions of interest from competitive firms in a bid to restart the development work on the 8.5 kilometre-long patch of the said road in February.

Gauging the impact of the road’s construction

The local property marketplace is abuzz about the CDA announcement as scores of housing schemes and CDA sectors are expected to benefit from the infrastructure project. While the delay has created hurdles for both investors and real estate developers, especially for those who have centered their marketing campaigns on Margalla Road’s prime location, the civic agency has finally succeeded in breaking the deadlock.

Investment streak has been progressing for a while

According to agents operating in the society, demand for plots in B-17 underwent a surge after the government lifted the lockdown in July last year. During the said time period, prices of property increased by 25%, according to agents. Sources also claimed that demand is currently high for plot files in Block G. These files were issued on a flexible payment plan some months ago.

Developments in the pipeline

With the CDA announcing to re-award the contract for construction of almost 8.5 kilometer long road patch of the Margalla Avenue, B-17’s distance from central parts of Islamabad will be reduced by half. At the moment, the society is mainly accessed from the GT Road (N-5). In addition to that, related working is underway for construction of a dedicated interchange for the society on Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1). All of these factors combined with the fact that society is home to a number of families now and the developer is constantly acquiring more land, with plans to launch more blocks in the future, everything about B-17 is in place to make it a tempting project for investment.

Market insights

According to Tanveer Ur Rehman, a representative of Urban Edge Real Estate, B-17 will benefit the most from announcement made regarding the completion of Margalla Road. He believes that the development will bring about at least 20% gain in the short term. The price appreciation will be more prominent for Block G plot files, which are already being traded at a profit ranging between PKR 900,000 to PKR 4,500,000 for 5 marlas, 10 marlas and 1 kanal, said Rehman.

For Zameen News readers, we sought details on latest prices of possession and non-possession plots in B-17:

Investment Tips

Since Rehman believes that short-terms investments are the most suitable once made in smaller plots, he recommends 5-marla plot files. For most of these plots files, down payment amount and 3 instalments have already been paid and their current market rate includes profit, colloquially called ‘own’. Here is a quick look at the current own on 5-marla, 10-marla and 1-kanal plot files in Block G; please note that the below mentioned rates do not include the down payment amount and instalments that have already been paid:

Rehman is optimistic that investment made in these plot files, especially for 5-marla, will bring along profit of up to PKR 100,000 in a duration as short as one month.

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