I know it may be an off topic but do anyone ever tried to invest in american real estate from
Pakistan? What are the available venues? Any minimum limit?
My interest developed due to two reasons ...
1- usd appreciates with time
2- real estate do also increase price with time
Thus any usd investment in real estate can bring relatively more benefits then investment in pk rupee.
Zarkon dear, this is not the best time to invest in US properties as they are expecting another housing crash any time soon.
I think you can buy house in US but should have at least multiple entry visitor visa to be physically present to open bank account and to close the deal. Other knowledgeable bros and sis can shed more light.
Instead of buying your own, you can check out options for group investment, there are property in estment groups/companies in US such as AAA. You can do web search to educate more about investment opportunities and process.
As for your reason for investment, that is, declining rupee, believe me, no other country offers such returns on value and rental as Pakistan does. So minor depreciation doesn't matter, all you should avoid is massive devaluation, that is, over 10%. And the best way is to time your foreign currency conversion after major devaluation.
The opinions vary from individuals as well as from Global Real Estate Agents
- Some would argue in favour of the likes of G8 (growing economies).
- Some play safe with (historically) proven options like the US/UK/Swiss/France.
- The general consensus is in favour of tourist destinations like Latin Europe (Spain, Portugal), Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
US market is not bad considering growing housing crises, however, the market is not the same as it used to be some half decade ago. Post COVID and elections 2020, will further determine the economic context and real estate in particular. One need to double check the taxation on real estate, it may vary from US state to state but I guess generally 15% may apply at least on selling.
I would keep an eye on stocks in particular Petro, Cement, Banks, Aviation, Power Supply companies. If not all at-least a few eggs in stocks basket as COVID impacts start to normalise ...
@Isloo
Fundrise.com is a Group investment option and recommend by someone. My sofar conclusion seems to try any group investment option to avoid any hassle at all.
@Imtiaz
Can you plz enlight us how to proceed for stocks in USD?
In PAK for sure it is the PKR only investment and returns. The principle agenda remains:
'Investment that can counter the knock-out impacts of the devaluation of PKR against the USD, no matter which asset or which currency.'
In that context, we can see for last 12 months, despite PKR devaluation, generally stocks performed well than real estate, overall, whenever the investment was wise.
Anyone interesting in investment, well here is the screenshot material:
If you wanna make money out of stocks go for products/services/investment into the likes of Fauji ( Cement/Food/Fertilizer/Foundation), Askari Bank... You will not loose unless the PSX is forced into a crash to fill some individual pockets.
Well Zarkon sab, you are spot on about the US dollar appreciation in Pakistan and it is likely that you can make a handsome profit of such investment. The North American housing real estate is experiencing a steady growth-trend since the 2011-ish. However, after a pretty good Q1 2020 trend in the market, the outlook for second quarter seems to be cooling off – after the economic fallout from the COVID-19 situation. So, from that perspective it might be better to consider your options. Of course, it would be good to have someone who has the know-how of the regulations and requirements. As things are, with Trump around, it is not looking good for non-white Americans and their businesses in the United States.
Besides, the same about rupee depreciation and real estate value is true for so many other countries as well. It might not be easy to research all the market trends and regulations for these countries but it will be worth your while. Have you given any thought to the Turkish real estate market? Last I heard they were offering incentives for real estate investment.
@Hasham
Turkish property is over-priced due to its aggressive program of citizenship through real estate investment. Rental yield is nothing, aroind 3%. Plus Turkish Lira is also loosing ground same as PKR, so I don't think it is a profitable investment by any measure.
Secondly, Pakistan still does not have treaty for dual citizenship with Turkey. Though it is in process but not signed as yet.
One can get decent rental yields in Dubai of around 5 to 6% after paying service charges. The key is buying the smallest and cheapest studio apartments on offer in mid-market or lower market segment, not the Palm Jumaraihs or Marinas. Some companies are offering up to 10 years of post-payment plan due to over-supply and COVID 19 impact. I feel one can get a good deal these days before Dubai's economy gets into full swing before EXPO 2020.
You can look at some data through these links to get an insight.
https://www.propertymonitor.ae/research/uae-communities-index/dubai-rental-yields.html
https://www.datafinder.ae/trends/#moasher
Dubai's real estate is becoming a mature market, now but still no way near the established markets yet.
@Bilal, dubai property has been on a very long slide down for many successive years, COVID has made it worst. So I don't think it will rebound next year due to Expo, and after that, there is no trigger left to bring prices on positive trajectory.
Dubai as luxurious holiday destination has lost its glitter for at least 2 years. Which is enough to ruin its economic muscle that was already on steroids.
You will soon witness many franchise food chains, hotels and theme parks going bankrupt, massive layoffs (already hapenning) and expats leaving. There's surely tough time ahead, unless some big player jumps in.
You should always have some (minor, less than 10%) percentage of your investments in Gold. That will help you cover inflation as well as dollar fluctuation to some extent, I feel.
Minor savings dollar account could also be helpful -- will not always help with inflation (though sometimes will) but you will have some protection against dollar fluctuation.
About investment in USA. As Isloo sab pointed out, Pakistan is a better option in the long run, at least. Even if you keep the dollar fluctuation in mind.
If you are really looking to go for international property, screw US. You could definitely find some other better options, check this out: https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/investment-rating
Inside Pakistan, you should divide your investments between stocks, bonds, property, gold and USD. The proportion you assign to these will depend on how safe you want your money to be.
Stocks are in a decent place for buyers right now, as Imtiaz sab pointed out. Construction related stocks like cement, steel and engineering works would be nice over the next 18 months. Commercial bank stocks are low. Stocks POL and MARI (both oil) are also expected to rise. Some textile stocks are also low because of coronavirus (GATM, NML) and they will recover in the next 6 to 12 months, I feel, making them a good buy.