Pakistan Property & Real Estate News

Selling the American Nightmare of Homeownership

by Ralph Roberts

For more than 30 years, I have been in the business of selling the American Dream of homeownership. I live to find families the perfect home for their budget and lifestyle, and I take great pride in helping to set these families on the path to pursuing happiness.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the real estate industry is committed to serving homeowners. Many are more dedicated to serving their own self-interests. I recently received a letter from a couple who had become victims of a manufactured housing fiasco. I would call it a scam, but without knowing more about the alleged perpetrators' motives, the incident doesn't quite qualify. According to the couple, Delena and Joseph LaMacchia, of Cherryville, North Carolina, here's how the situation unfolded:

At the time, Joe and I (Delena) were renting a home where we lived with our four children. It was a nice home, but we were looking for something that would give us a little more room. For about three months, we shopped around for quotes on manufactured homes from different contractors. Finally, I went on the Internet, searched for "champion homes," and discovered Bessemer City Housing in Bessemer City, North Carolina.

I contacted the salesperson, who quoted me a price that was $20,000 less than the lowest quote I currently had on the same home. I asked whether certain things were included, and he said, "Yes." All together, we were looking at a $185,000 transaction -- $165,000 for the home and $20,000 for the land.

We explained our situation and mentioned our concern that we would be unable to qualify for a mortgage loan to purchase the home. The salesperson said not to worry; he dealt with a loan officer at American Home Mortgage who could help.

We met with the loan officer and fully disclosed our situation. We had four children, everything we owned was in my name, and we had a modest income with some fairly substantial debts -- two vehicles on which we owed about $40,000, another home we owed $85,000 on, a parcel of land we owed $13,000 on, medical bills, and credit card balances. The loan officer explained that he would need to pull our credit and get back with us. When he finally called back, he informed us that although Joe's credit was a bit weak, I could qualify for the loan.

The loan officer explained that he could do a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 7.5 percent, which seemed a little high at the time. He also could offer us a fixed-rate mortgage at 2.25 percent that would change to a variable rate after two years. He told us that would give us time to sell our other house and refinance.

The loan officer helped us fill out the application. He asked for "stated income," and I told him that I earned $21,000 a year along with $900 in child support each month. The next thing I heard is that I was approved for the loan and the house was on order. American Home Mortgage would not do the construction loan, but Yorktown Funding would handle the loan for them.

The only sticking point was the appraisal. To close on the transaction, the appraisal of the property (land plus the house) needed to come in at $214,000. The first appraisal fell short, so Yorktown asked the appraiser to go out and find two more comparable properties to justify a higher appraisal. The appraiser followed instructions, but the appraisal was still too low. The salesperson then suggested changing the property's address -- the way the property was positioned on the lot, it could have either of two addresses. With the new address, the property appraised at $209,000 which did the trick.

Grading on the lot started at the end of March with delivery of the home scheduled for April 21, 2007. On April 21, the home finally arrived, ten hours late and with significant damage. The salesman informed us that while the home was being transported, one of the axles broke. As a result, the home was twisted. We tore the plastic off the home while everyone was still there, including the salesman and the setup crew. When we saw the damage, we asked the salesperson about sending the house back. He said he was going to call someone at Champion Homes, but we didn't hear another word about replacing the home. Because it was so late, the setup crew had to go.

The next day, the setup crew arrived and proceeded to place the house on the lot. It took Johnny, the four-person setup crew, Joe and his best friend the entire day to set the house. The crane had damaged the house around the top and sides.

To obtain money from the construction loan, the property needed to pass a series of inspections. The salesman never showed up for the inspections. He simply called me at work or called the setup supervisor or Joe to check up on the inspections and let him know when the property passed an inspection. I was supposed to be informed of each "draw" on the construction loan, but I never heard a word and had no idea where the money was going. In addition, the loan officer told me that the salesman was taking the setup crew off of my house to do other things so he could make even more money. On April 27, we finally closed on the construction loan with Yorktown Funding.

On June 13, the salesman asked for a final inspection, so we could close on the loan from American Home Mortgage. The house did not pass, due to drainage issues in the back yard and the fact that the garage was not wired and had no hand rail, the sheet rock was a mess, and other defects. The salesman ordered another inspection and informed us that the property passed this time and we could schedule the closing. The second closing was another fiasco, but we managed to muddle through it.

Two days later, and still nobody showed up to finish the work on the house. The salesman was not returning calls, and when we started digging up information, we found out that he had never paid the contractor who had done must of the work. I called the Manufacturing Institute and found out that the salesman was not a licensed contractor. I would need to contact the county where the inspections were done and the permit issued. When I called Gaston County, I was informed that the salesperson had taken out a surety bond for $5,000, because he wasn't a licensed contractor. I went by the next day to pick up a copy of the bond, and I contacted the representative at the insurance company that issued it.

I filed a complaint with the insurance company and never heard back from them. When I called, they said it was a "long process."

On August 1st, I received my first mortgage bill with a letter informing me that American Home was going bankrupt and they were selling my loan to EMC. As of August 20, 2007 EMC is who I would pay. The first bill had my payment at $757 from American Home. On August 20, 2007, I received something from EMC stating they would be handling my mortgage. The first payment was due on September 1, 2007. The statement showed something called "amortization" with four different payment types.

I then called EMC and told them this was not the loan I applied for. The person I talked with explained that they had no recourse at this time and that my closing attorney would need to go in front of a judge to have the loan declared null and void. I explained everything to my attorney. He said the case was over his head -- he didn't know what to do and didn't appear in front of judges.

I tried hiring another attorney, but nobody in Gastonia would take the case because the salesman's wife works for an attorney in town. I looked in a neighboring town but they declined, again because of some perceived conflict of interest. I called the Better Business Bureau, and they told me to get a lawyer. I called over 60 lawyers and no one helped. I finally met a friend who knows a good bit about my situation; she has been helping me.

We've come to find out that the salesperson had already been sued before, filed bankruptcy, and had over four businesses shut down by the Secretary of State for not fulfilling state requirements. I also discovered that my attorney had not filed all the paperwork correctly, the mortgage company falsified my income, and I had no insurance on my property because of mistakes that the salesman made. In addition, the appraisal showed that $3,000 worth of work still needed to be done.

I have tried to refinance but no one is willing to approve a new loan, because, given my debt-to-income ratio, I should never have been approved for the current loan I have. EMC will not tell me anything, except they will probably take the deed to my house and land. They don't want to help at all. I called American Home Mortgage and they still have all my documents but can't tell me who my lender or investor is and that EMC is my servicer. I have had two lawyers and neither one can do anything because American Home went bankrupt, and no one knows what to do.

Most recently, an attorney told me what I had already come to expect -- there's no hope. I don't want to lose my home, it is my family land and I have always dreamed of building on it before my grandfather passed away. If anyone can help me save my home please email me at cherryvilleaream@bellsouth.net; we live in Cherryville, NC 28021.

This is just one story, but it is representative of what has been happening in every state in the Union -- professionals preying on homeowners who have been duped into trusting the system and the professionals who run it. It is the equivalent of going into a doctor's office and intentionally been diagnosed as having cancer. The "doctor" prescribes a host of expensive tests, medications, treatments, and therapies just to jack up your fees, and then flies out of the country when you're money runs out.

When you seek the advice of any professional -- a doctor, attorney, accountant, Realtor, or whoever -- you expect that the person is going to give you accurate information and reliable advice. You do not expect the person to flat out lie to you. We have to stop blaming homeowners for the current mortgage meltdown and start holding real estate professionals and lenders to the same standards we set for doctors and other professionals. We also need to start placing the blame where it belongs -- not with the homeowners but with the professionals who lead them astray.

Property rights for democracy and development

Property rights lie at the heart of society and are the foundation of economic development. The principal function of any state and government is the provision of sound and secure property tights. Without property rights there can be no trading, no investment.

Property rights are at the heart of any economic activity--nobody will become economically active if he can be cheated out of the fruits of his efforts. In addition, meaningful prices and efficient use of resources require secure property rights.

It is for this reason that Douglass North in his Nobel acceptance lecture concluded that "an essential part of development policy is the creation of polities that will create and enforce efficient property rights."

There could be a symbiotic relationship between property rights and politics. A system of politics where power takes precedence over property rights cannot lead to democracy. If public property ca be used for private gain of the powerful, if land acquisition can be used to benefit the rich, if zoning laws can be tampered with at will to suit the incumbent, if supra-legal, above-the-law entities can be created, such as the Defence Housing Authority, to manipulate rights for a certain group, democracy cannot take root.

All of us are heavily involved with the drama of democracy vs. dictatorship that is on the telly every day. There is a myth that says that all will be solved if only there were a vote. Yes, independence of the judiciary is one. But another important issue is the system of property rights.

In Pakistan, ironically, secure property rights obtain only in DHA and Islamabad, where the powerful have invested. But both these properties were made through an abuse of eminent domain. Often the poor peasant was forced to give up his valuable land for yesterday's price to the benefit of the members of the fraternity of the army or the bureaucrats. Whatever system of governance we have (whether democracy or dictatorship) our leaders are competing for the benefits derived from "property rights for the rich!" They are not competing for providing governance. Nor is property flowing to the talented.

Qabza (land-grabbing) remains a most lucrative business today. Why should anyone do any serious work when the gains are in grabbing land!

A particular housing society in Islamabad is a case study in point. The society was formed 20 years ago and was going nowhere. Then the new airport (new at that time) was set up in front of it and suddenly value was created. Enterprising people got involved and established links with senior government officials and generals.

What about the original claimants who had invested their hard-earned money? Many of them were overseas and not always on top of their property. So they were easy targets. The new management committee, made up of the rich and famous, sent out a letter to the poor unsuspecting targets saying that development charges were due and that if they were not paid, their plots would be rescinded. Apparently, dues for development charges were in the region of about Rs150,000. The value of the plot is about Rs4.5 to five million. Well, to collect a debt of about Rs150,000, they were able to seize a property of value over 37 times without any due process of law. Just a board meeting! How many widows, orphans, old people and poor immigrants were caught in the net, we will never know. But someone (the board) has done well!

Our so-called free media is too scared and often even beholden to the rich to talk about issues like this. No one wants to look at this important case study of property rights.

Fortunately, everyone concerned is overlooking a simple solution that humans in civilised societies worked out many centuries ago -- at least as early as Shakespeare's time. Ok, let us concede that development has to go on and that dues have to be pai,d and those who cannot be reached should also contribute. But their debt to the cooperative society is backed by a marketable claim to a piece of land. Even though the society has not yet handed over the plot, the property right is clearly recognised by law and, above all, is being transacted in the market every day.

A marketable asset has intrinsic value, which cannot just be taken over by anyone without due process of law. A housing society can enforce its claim, and should, but to take over such a marketable claim, it must go through some court-approved foreclosure proceedings. They should not be able to take over an asset with market value on the basis of a meeting in someone's living room.

Once foreclosed, the properties should be auctioned in a transparent, open process for all to bid by open outcry in the presence of a court appointed observer. The monies received belong to the owner of the property. Of course, the society has a claim to its debt, but no more. We have Shakespeare famously saying that the debt of "a pound of flesh" must "obtain a pound of flesh and no more -- not a drop of blood." The cooperative has taken more than the whole body for their pound of flesh.

Even defaulters have rights. Thus, the society gets the money it is owed. The owner should be able to get whatever is left over. The principles of property give the full value of that property to the owner of the property. Lenders to whom the property may be collateralised cannot collect more than their claim. Yes, they can force a sale with the court's permission. But they cannot take more than what is owed to them.

What is to be done of those who cannot be traced. Twenty years is a long time. Some of them may have died, disappeared, or whatever.

Should the board or management or other members of society take over their claims. Not at all (in civilised society)! As I outlined earlier, their property can be foreclosed and sold at an open auction. After the society's claim has been settled, whatever is left over must be put in escrow for some legally specified time, say, seven years, in special savings certificates. If in that time the claimant turns up, he realises the value of his property.

If that person does not turn up after seven years, or whatever time specified by law, the money should go to either the government or to some charitable cause, again in a very clear, transparent manner.

In the case described above, people did sue the housing society. But these cases have been in court for many years. Politicians and generals brokered deals. Interestingly enough, in January this year, without informing their membership, the society changed its ownership, eventually being taken over by the DHA. The DHA is more or less a supra-legal body that does not come under the cooperatives law. No attempt was made by the military body, DHA, to deal with this issue of property rights. No even a simple newspaper ad was placed or a public meeting held to understand the plight of those who had been dispossessed.

What happened to the claims of the dispossessed on the cooperative society?

Who cares in the land of the holy? We have the Chief Justice's case to watch and the Lal Masjid battle to worry about. Little issues like property rights do not matter. But the real issue is property rights and the rest is a red herring.

CDA okays 7 locations for CNG stations

ISLAMABAD - The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has approved seven locations for CNG filling stations in the federal capital.

The approval was made in meeting of the CDA Board held here on Wednesday.

The meeting was presided over by CDA Chairman Kamran Lashari. Moin-ud-Din Kakakhel, Member (Engineering), Brig Asad Munir, (Member Estate), Serwer Sindhu, Director (Urban Planning) and other high officials of the Authority were also present in the meeting.

The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling stations would be set up at G-9/2, G-8/2, G-6, D-8/1 sectors, Blue Area, Kashmir Highway and Islamabad Highway, informed a senior official of the Authority while talking to TheNation.

He added that the decision was taken keeping in view the rapid increase in demand for CNG fuel in the city.

He further informed that land for the stations would be given on monthly rent for 30 years while the rent would be decided in open auction.

After the expiration of the said period, the Authority would own the developed sites, said the official.

Moreover, the Board also approved policy for lying down optical fibre cable in the federal capital. The board has decided to allow companies for lying down the cable at lesser rates than other cities of the country.

The Board also approved recognition of grandsons and granddaughters as heir to the property of their maternal grandparents in case their parents had passed away. As per CDA's existent rules, grandchildren were not recognised as heir to property of their maternal grandparents in case their parents had passed away.]

On the issue to decrease experience of Admin Officer (BPS�16) for promotion to Assistant Director (BPS-17), from five years to three years, the Board decided to first examine existing regulations in other government departments.

The Board also approved agro-farming plots to affectees of various sectors according to the recommendation of Allotment Scrutiny Committee.

Gulf could face shortage of real estate professionals

DUBAI: The real estate industry in the Gulf region could face shortage of qualified professionals as it witnesses an unparalleled boom, according to a study.

The study by University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) said that developers were finding it difficult to find skilled professionals, despite offering salaries and perks that were among the highest in the region, WAM news agency reported on Thursday.

"There has been a tremendous increase in the number of property developers and real estate agents, creating a strong demand for professionals in all aspects of property developments and management," said Marwan Bin Ghalita, CEO of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

"The real challenge is not the execution of the projects but to find people with the right skills to maintain and service the real estate sector," said David Rome, president of UOWD.

In 2007, professionals working in the Middle East real estate sector saw their salaries rise by 14.5 to 22.1 percent, according to a salary survey released last year by Macdonald and Company, a recruitment consultancy.

Profitable Real Estate Market

Real estate market finds tremendous changes over the period with advancement and improvements in the real estate market. Nowadays more number of sellers and buyers finds good entrance and exit for their real estate property. More number of properties is listed in the market for sale for a reasonable price consideration. Today, real estate market satisfies the needs and requirements of their buyers and sellers. When a real estate property is listed for sale by the seller, then he should sell the real property for a reasonable price consideration with profit. This way, the buyer should also buy the property from the market for a fair consideration. Real estate market fetches profit for both the buyer and seller of the real property.

When the real estate property fetch profit to the buyer and seller, then only the real estate transaction made is said to be profitable. To fetch profit for the real estate property, the real estate market is found out. Without any profit, the real estate transaction will not be valuable. With the advancement of technology, more number of seller and buyers are coming forward to buy and sell the property in the market. Nowadays, trends have been changed and people started realizing the need for the real estate property and market. Though the real estate market finds frequent fluctuations, real estate markets also finds good demand for the real properties listed. The main reason for this fluctuation is that, real estate properties are sold for good price consideration in the market.

When a real estate deal takes place for the properties, either the seller or the buyer will obtain profit for the real property. This way either the buyer or the seller obtains profit for the real estate property sold. When real estate property is list out with adequate and relevant information regarding the property, then the seller can sell the real property with hassle free. Nowadays, real estate investing finds a good demand in the market and more people tend to invest in real estate property. When more number of people started investing in real estate investment, then surely the economy attains finite position in the market.

When real estate properties is listed for reasonable price, desired location, spaces and so on, then that particular real estate property finds a good demand in the real estate market. When real estate investing process carries on profitably, then only the buyer and seller come forward to the real estate market. Commercial and residential real estate properties are listed in the real estate market with advancement and increment in price consideration. In the real estate property market, both the buyer and seller have to fetch profit for the property bought and sold.

Ten reasons Dubai real estate will continue to boom

Dubai real estate may well be the next asset class bubble to be created by inappropriate interest rate levels set by the US, alongside Hong Kong property. But there are at least 10 good reasons to think the present realty boom in Dubai will continue for rather longer than many outside observers believe possible.

1. Dubai mortgage rates are around 8.5 per cent and have yet to adjust to the recent US rate cuts, which they have to do because of the dollar peg to the dirham. Just a couple of years ago local mortgage rates of seven per cent were available. Therefore the downward pressure on the cost of home finance is clear, and if the local mortgage market follows Hong Kong and becomes more competitive, then interest rates could go much lower, making it significantly cheaper to buy than rent. Real interest rates are already negative due to high local inflation.

2. Rental yields in the Dubai market of 7-10 per cent are abnormally high by international standards. Rents are unlikely to fall in a booming market, so it is more likely that rising capital values will gradually pressure yields down towards global levels. There is no reason why rental yields should be higher in a booming city like Dubai than in a city where the economic outlook is poorer.

3. The hype about Dubai development projects has admittedly duped even this skeptical correspondent over the years. The fact is that far less supply is coming on stream than promised by overenthusiastic developers, due partly to limited supplies of manpower and materials. Dubai Properties is one of the biggest and has just said it will deliver 5,000 units to the freehold market in 2008 which is not nearly enough to meet surging demand.

4. Dubai house prices are still low in absolute terms in comparison to other global cities with similar salary levels. The HSBC survey of house prices in comparison to per capita GDP put Dubai and Abu Dhabi near the bottom. This is a historic anomaly that will be eliminated by price rises.

5. Six years ago, when Dubai freehold began, it was a market without any formal legislation and regulatory infrastructure. Now it has world-class laws, a state-of-the-art land registry and a strongly-led regulatory authority. Hope has been replaced by experience.

6. The Dubai Financial Market crashed in 2006 pushing local investors into property as an alternative. It recovered in late 2007, but is now again trending downwards with global stocks, and has become highly volatile, shifting over 10 per cent in a day. Expect stock market participants to again seek a more stable alternative.

7. Indeed, the absence of investment alternatives is a major theme for 2008. Global stock markets have had their worst January in history. Recent US interest rate cuts leave deposits paying 2.8 per cent. This makes Dubai real estate look attractive as an alternative. Where else offers such a return?

8. In the same way that the local stock market crash attracted foreign bargain hunters to invest last year, foreign investors in search of yield are also increasingly investing in Dubai real estate. Problems in the UK housing market might be dissuading some buyers, but large numbers of oil-rich Russians, for example, are now buying in Dubai.

9. Dubai still has some undeveloped market niches in real estate, such as holiday lets and fractional ownership, which are big and even dominant market phenomena in many beach resorts around the world. This source of higher rental yield on property has therefore yet to be fully tapped.

10. The Dubai Government has been the most proactive developer in the emirate, and its recent legislation and regulatory initiatives suggest that this support is not only likely to continue, but will respond appropriately to any adverse market developments.

Property Market in Pakistan: What-future-holds?

Like most other countries in the world, Pakistan is currently going through a property and real estate boom. The prices are sky high and are going even higher. Prime locations in chief cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad are being chased by property hunters and the prices are already touching millions of US dollars. A one kanal house in areas like Gulberg, Model Town, and Defense are being sold for $200,000, $300000 to $500000 for two kanals and so on and so forth. The prices have risen almost five times of what they were a couple of years back. People have stopped selling in this market and hence it has become a sellers market. The wait for further increase in the price is holding buyers at bay and sellers in the wait. But is it worth it? Are property prices all set to rise further or is the bubble burst just around the corner?

The Buying spree:-

A lot of people are looking at this as the right time to invest into the market. They are investing and buying housing projects that will still take years to develop. Take the example of the various housing societies that are coming up a few kilometers from the outskirts of these major cities. Most of these societies have homes that are priced in lakhs. But people are not looking to sell at all. When they start selling, the prices will go down and it will instantly bring about a market correction that should change the current scenario. In addition to this a lot of people are taking home loans to buy homes and looking to tap into the lucrative market. But as a result of the steady rise in the interest rates, a lot of people have been defaulting on these loans. This is not helping the market one bit. Is it?

The downturn point:-

Buyers need to be aware of the downturn point or the ceiling of the current rise. There are very little original buyers who are looking to invest in property with a long term goal in mind. The rest are small term investors who are simply looking to buy small pieces of land and later sell it off for higher rates. Society owners are also buying files in bulk so that later on they can create an artificial deficit for files and sell these files for exorbitant prices. Most experts will suggest to you that the bubble will burst very soon. A lot of people are now getting to dealers so that they can sell off their plots. A lot of rumors are also doing the rounds that big time players have resorted to massive selling in the fear that the real estate bubble will burst very soon.

The future:-

These rumors, the current rising trend and the market scenarios suggest that a long overdue correction will set in the market very soon indeed. The current overpriced market will see a decline in prices and this will bring much wanted relief to many people looking to venture into this market with a long term perspective.

Lagovent Buys Apartment Portfolio in Dallas Metroplex

Lagovent Real Estate Group has acquired two Class B Dallas-area apartment complexes totaling 952 units for a total consideration of $40.5 million.

“These are core assets with stable cash flow which will provide our investors with risk adjusted, double-digit first-year returns,” Lagovent managing partner Konstantin Glasmacher said in a prepared statement. “These types of multi-family assets fit nicely into our national real estate strategy, which focuses on very specific location and asset attributes.”

The two properties are Camelot Village, a 512-unit complex in Mesquite, Texas, and Wimberly Park, a 440-unit complex in Duncanville, Texas. The garden-style properties, built in the 1980s, reportedly have little or no deferred maintenance and have had steady occupancy rates of over 90 percent. Both properties are adjacent to interstate highways and both feature business centers, gyms, swimming pools and playgrounds.

“These properties are immaculate,” Lagovent vice president John Swartz told CPN today. “They’re really the upper end of Class B.” Although Lagovent often focuses on Class B properties with value-add opportunities, he explained, in this case the properties won’t need a significant capital infusion.

The tenant mix, Swartz added, is a good cross-section of singles, couples and families with children, and has a history of low turnover.

Los Angeles-based Lagovent Real Estate Group sponsors a range of property investment vehicles and focuses on U.S.-based multi-family investments and on capital preservation and value enhancement.

CBRE Investors Closes $2.1B Real Estate Fund

CB Richard Ellis Investors has announced the closing of CB Richard Ellis Strategic Partners U.S. 5 to new investors. Strategic Partners U.S. 5 consists of two limited partnerships, with raised equity commitments of $2.1 billion from institutional investors in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. The funds are expected to have total purchasing power of $6.4 billion.

Strategic Partners U.S. Value 5 plans to make value-added investments to reposition assets, stabilize moderate levels of vacancy, invest in “controlled risk” development and pursue a portfolio accumulation strategy in highly rated major metropolitan areas in the United States.

The Partnership will also execute extensive repositioning programs primarily in distressed assets with high levels of vacancy, invest in “early stage” development, acquire and reposition portfolios and invest in operating companies that control high-quality real estate. Both funds will invest in office, multi-family, industrial and retail properties.

According to a CBRE spokesperson, Strategic Partners US 5 will execute both value and opportunistic investment styles instead of being limited to one or the other as it has been with other funds.

The Strategic Partners U.S. program is part of a global closed-end real estate private equity fund series that has closed 14 funds/investment programs since 2000 with $7.5 billion in committed equity and more than $22 billion in total purchasing power.

The Maryland Daily Record reported today that another CBRE division, CBRE Realty Finance Inc., has been sued by investors. According to the Daily Record, that suit claims that CBRE deceived investors before its initial public offering by failing to disclose the risk of two real estate loans. Citigroup Inc., Wachovia Corp., Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse Group and JMP Group Inc., underwriters of the September 2006 IPO, are defendants in the suit that involved a deal with Annapolis based Triton Real Estate Partners L.L.C.

Plots worth Rs. 500 Million Vacated In Johar Town

Lahore: Commercial plots worth Rs. 500 million have been vacated from encroachers in Johar Town Trade Center, it was learnt here on Thursday.

Measuring one kanals apiece, these plots were encroached upon thrice in the past three months. A grand operation was carried out yesterday under the monitoring of Director State Management Javed Iqbal. The task force faced strong resistance but eventually, they succeeded. Director General LDA ordered that no influential parties would be allowed to take over the plots, it was learnt.

5 Marla Houses to be Exempt from Tax in Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi: Muhammad Raja Basharat, Punjab Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Local Bodies has said that they have submitted a bill in Punjab Assembly seeking exemption from paying taxes on 5 Marla Houses in Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Boards.

He said this while he was distributing Rs. 4.7 Million for Water Supply Scheme for Officers Colony Misrial Road. He criticized opposition MPAs for not bothering about the welfare of their societies, and said if they had proposed this bill, the government would have extended its support to it.

Raja Basharat said that they were providing funds for development of Officers Colony, Misrial Road for the purpose of construction of streets and alleys and water facilities. Giving details, he said that Rs. 16 lakhs have been provided for construction of streets while Rs. 3 lakhs were provided for provision of water to these areas. In addition to this, he distributed cheques worth Rs. 28 lakhs for the same purposes.

In Rawalpindi Cantonment board, Rs. 5 crore has been allocated for the development of civilian localities falling in its jurisdiction, he said.

He mentioned that the bill for exemption of 5 marla houses in cantonment limits from paying taxes should have been moved from the opposition MPAs and then it would have had the support of treasury bench in Punjab Assembly.

Muhammad Nasir Raja, PML District President said that they had executed development projects in the area without any discrimination whatsoever and hoped that people would vote for their candidates in the upcoming elections.

He also mentioned that they had introduced service based politics and impressed upon the people to vote for candidates on the basis of their services for the general public.

Nazim Potohar Town Hamid Nawaz Raja said that they would extend more funds for development of cantonment areas in coming days and would bring these undeveloped areas at par with the developed ones.

Housing inventory rises again in April

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of homes for sale was on the rise again in April, according to figures from Zip Realty, a California-based real estate broker.

Nationally, inventories expanded 3.5% last month in the 29 major markets that the company tracks, and were up 6% over the same period last year.

"Inventories in some cities may be topping out," said Michael Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research. "But this shows that sales are still weak."

Even some markets that used to be considered bulletproof have seen inventories grow. Twelve months ago, Seattle had a fairly small number of homes for sale. But inventory there has since spiked 45.9% to 36,632.

The number of homes for sale in San Francisco rose 23.8% and Washington, D.C. inventory increased 18% over the same 12 months.

Chicago saw the biggest jump in inventory between March and April, with 82,000 homes listed for sale, up 5.9%.

And these bloated inventories have put pressure on home sellers to slash prices that have already been on a steep decline. In Orange County, Calif., 49.8% of homes on the market in early May have had prices reductions, according to the report. In Phoenix, 49% of the homes have lowered prices, and in Sacramento 48.8% of homes have been discounted.

Larson said, "There's been very aggressive pricing and increased incentives by builders. And banks taking back properties in foreclosure have also been very aggressive in selling those homes off again."

He adds that inventories may be peaking, if for no other reason than that far fewer new homes being built.

In January, 2006 new homes were coming on the market at an annually adjusted rate of 2.3 million units. The pace of new home construction has now fallen nearly 60% since then, to 947,000 a year.