\nKARACHI: The low-cost housing schemes by private builders announced in great numbers all over the country have witnessed extraordinary public interest which has led to price hikes in properties in some cities and over subscription of projects in others.\n<\/p>\n
\nAccording to real estate insiders, many more housing projects are in the books of both top and small developers of Pakistan and would be launched after Muharram.\n<\/p>\n
\nThese projects have been initiated in Islamabad, Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Mardan and have received tremendous responses from the common public.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cPakistan\u2019s backlog of 8.8 million houses may now be met to at least some extent,\u201d voiced Vice President of FPCCI Sub-committee of Housing and Construction Munir Sultan.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe said this backlog was of homes for lower and middle income groups who found it difficult to build their own shelters for their heads and therefore lived in slums or \u2018katchi abadis\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
\nWith the new housing development plans, the annual requirement of 1.5 million homes may be met at least half way through. But Sultan says, even this is not enough.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe government has not given any incentives in many years and though they have promised the world verbally, nothing has come about in writing or in practice,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n
\nSultan states the government had banned land allotments for the past seven years and now this ban should be removed so that the value of empty plots also comes down.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe further expressed that the government should encourage satellite towns in suburbs to also deal with the backlog in the country. \u201cThe government should also give us incentives as they have provided to foreign developers and builders in the country,\u201d he continued.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cForeign builders would take the money back to their countries, however, the same incentives if provided to local builders would help them to expand and introduce more projects,\u201d he pointed out.\n<\/p>\n
\nOn the other hand, another known developer requesting to remain anonymous said that since investments in the real estate sector were returning into Pakistan, the government should ensure security for local developers.\n<\/p>\n
\nReferring to the Dubai based law of escrow accounts, which ensures protection against fraud and embezzlement, the developer said it was essential for a similar rule to be initiated in Pakistan so that developers \u201cdo not run away\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe said day light robbery and fraud cases in Pakistan were a norm and when a lot of black money was being converted into investments in shape of low cost housing projects, then protection of the investors was of the top most priority and the government should sit up and be more attentive now.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe basis of financial crises all over the world was due to the insecure housing loans which led to about 35 per cent downfall in the housing sector in US and 45 per cent in Europe, he added.\n<\/p>\n
\nSince more investments are expected to come in the next four to five months, and Federal Minister for Housing and Works Rehmatullah Kakar has also announced investments worth $700 billion would be entering the country, the government should pass new laws for this industry as a revival in the real estate sector would also lead towards uplift of the economy, he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nKARACHI: The low-cost housing schemes by private builders announced in great numbers all over the country have witnessed extraordinary public<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"persona":[],"class_list":["post-3272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n