Sunday, December 28, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Year 2008 has proved to be a rather rollercoaster ride for the real estate sector. It started off dismally in January, following massive flight of investment after former premier Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and then underwent global financial crunch. However, it ended on a positive note as many new projects for the middle income group were introduced. Meanwhile, local investors, though severely wounded by heavy losses, also returned to Pakistani market from United Arab Emirates by October. Nevertheless, market experts were of the opinion that the year could not be considered positive for the sector as the damage done was far more than what was recovered in the past two months.
“Interestingly, though the commencement of the year promised little following the tragic incident on December 27, 2007 and it seemed to be the worst period in the history of Pakistan, average price of properties remained higher than what they had been when real estate recession started back in 2005,” stated Head of Real Estate Research at PakrealEstate.com, Shahbaz Mukhtar. Mukhtar said that property prices in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi were in fact 20 to 25 per cent higher compared to 2005 when the real estate sector recorded its first downward slide.
Citing examples, he shared that in 2005, a 500sq yard plot in F7 area of Islamabad cost approximately Rs30 million whereas in 2008 the same was estimated at around Rs45 million. Mukhtar went on to say that apart from natural appreciation over time, the development that took place in an area also mattered greatly for property evaluation. He gave the example of DHA phase VIII Karachi where a little development over months led to prices actually dipping in 2008. Going over a period of five years, Mukhtar said that a 500 square yard plot in phase VIII cost Rs1-1.5 million in 2002, which soared to Rs10-12 million at its peak in 2005. He said as the DHA failed to maintain the development progress, today the same property is valued at Rs6-7 million only.
The real estate researcher also enunciated the Islamabad rental market stood humble in 2008 as the demand by foreigners reduced as most moved away to the ‘Diplomatic Enclave’ established for them. He said acts of terrorism in the year had also compelled many of them to move away from the country leaving the houses empty behind them. “The rupee-dollar parity also affected the rental market of Islamabad as the rents were in fact decided in dollars only,” he elucidated.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Global financial crunch hits real estate sector: The News
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Pakistanis worried about UAE investments: The News
Friday, December 12, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Pakistani real estate investors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are not the only ones to have lost out heavily on their investments, for many well-off Pakistani families looking towards owning a home in the pearl of the desert are now in a lurch as construction for several projects has stopped due to the financial crunch the Arab country is facing.
One Pakistani investor, Waleed Mughal who had invested in a residential project is “worried to death” over what would happen now as he had made plans to move out of his rented villa and take up residence in his own home once completed.He expressed that the freehold developers had promised to complete the project by early 2010 and he had invested heavily in owning an apartment. “Now the project is 80 per cent complete but the future of the remaining 20 per cent is uncertain. Despite repeated queries, I haven’t received any response on what is likely to happen next,” he articulated.
Many others like Waleed are in the same dilemma as the freehold properties of UAE promised world class luxuries and were priced for the same. Not being professional investors, and digging in to their savings to make their dreams come true, these families are now completely distressed.According to a real estate expert’s analysis, the UAE real estate market has already declined by 22 per cent and a further 17 per cent of the downfall is expected before the year ends.
While local investors have been left severely wounded by the losses they experienced there, which run in millions and billions of rupees, many families dreaming of Dubai as their second home and having permanent residency are now pale with fear over their investments.“Though the UAE government continues to decline the fact, several projects in the country have come to a standstill” informs a real estate expert from UAE. He shares that the Arab country claims that the projects have simply slowed down and all will be well by the beginning of the new year, but the reality is far from it.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistanis worried about UAE investments: The News
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Pakistani real estate investors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are not the only ones to have lost out heavily on their investments, for many well-off Pakistani families looking towards owning a home in the pearl of the desert are now in a lurch as construction for several projects has stopped due to the financial crunch the Arab country is facing.
One Pakistani investor, Waleed Mughal who had invested in a residential project is “worried to death” over what would happen now as he had made plans to move out of his rented villa and take up residence in his own home once completed.He expressed that the freehold developers had promised to complete the project by early 2010 and he had invested heavily in owning an apartment. “Now the project is 80 per cent complete but the future of the remaining 20 per cent is uncertain. Despite repeated queries, I haven’t received any response on what is likely to happen next,” he articulated.
Many others like Waleed are in the same dilemma as the freehold properties of UAE promised world class luxuries and were priced for the same. Not being professional investors, and digging in to their savings to make their dreams come true, these families are now completely distressed.According to a real estate expert’s analysis, the UAE real estate market has already declined by 22 per cent and a further 17 per cent of the downfall is expected before the year ends.
While local investors have been left severely wounded by the losses they experienced there, which run in millions and billions of rupees, many families dreaming of Dubai as their second home and having permanent residency are now pale with fear over their investments.“Though the UAE government continues to decline the fact, several projects in the country have come to a standstill” informs a real estate expert from UAE. He shares that the Arab country claims that the projects have simply slowed down and all will be well by the beginning of the new year, but the reality is far from it.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistanis worried about UAE investments: The News
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Opportunities for Pakistan in the Global Financial Slump: Economistan
FREE MARKETS: Many opportunities abound for countries like Pakistan due to the dynamics of the essential commodity prices coupled with low shipping rates. Time to harness these to our advantage.
By Saad Sarwar Muhammad
Monday, November 17, 2008
The whole world is undergoing a major financial crisis which has caused the downturn of almost all the developed world economies with job losses, bailouts and financial losses becoming the order of the day. In such unprecedented times of financial trouble the developed world is looking towards developing countries with huge reserves and financial muscle. Countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey fit the bill. They were invited in the recently held summit of the G-20 to help the developed economies recover from the slump and in some way bail out the developed countries from the fiasco they are in.
The world has been undergoing a rollercoaster ride when it comes to the prices of different commodities, the stock market index levels and the value of dollar and yen versus other major currencies. Oil and Gold are two commodities that have hit a nosedive in recent times. Iran has reportedly given the intent to convert its reserves into Gold in order to overcome the deficit that can result in the reduction of price of oil. The value of dollar and yen is soaring at a time against major European currencies giving the indication of more trust in the resilience of the US economy as compared to the EU.
Pakistan has been suffering its own financial crisis lately, which somehow seems unrelated to the recent global recession. Pakistan’s problems have mostly been homegrown based on the energy crisis due to shortage of alternative energy power sources such as hydel, wind, solar and to some extent nuclear. Pakistan’s financial crisis has resulted from the withdrawal of funds from Pakistan’s stock market, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) since the coming of the new civilian government. Pakistan’s stock market, KSE, has lost close to $36 billion dollars this year in market capitalization. Resultantly, the Pakistani rupee has also borne the brunt with the value of rupee falling from around 60 to a dollar from the beginning of the year to around 80 to a dollar at the moment (many currency dealers have also been arrested in the wake of the rupee devaluation, famous among them the firm of Khanani and Kalia). Not to mention the floor imposed on the KSE to allow the stock market to breathe a sigh of relief. The sigh has converted to deep sleep as the floor remains imposed after many many weeks.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Opportunities for Pakistan in the Global Financial Slump: Economistan
By Saad Sarwar Muhammad
Monday, November 17, 2008
The whole world is undergoing a major financial crisis which has caused the downturn of almost all the developed world economies with job losses, bailouts and financial losses becoming the order of the day. In such unprecedented times of financial trouble the developed world is looking towards developing countries with huge reserves and financial muscle. Countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey fit the bill. They were invited in the recently held summit of the G-20 to help the developed economies recover from the slump and in some way bail out the developed countries from the fiasco they are in.
The world has been undergoing a rollercoaster ride when it comes to the prices of different commodities, the stock market index levels and the value of dollar and yen versus other major currencies. Oil and Gold are two commodities that have hit a nosedive in recent times. Iran has reportedly given the intent to convert its reserves into Gold in order to overcome the deficit that can result in the reduction of price of oil. The value of dollar and yen is soaring at a time against major European currencies giving the indication of more trust in the resilience of the US economy as compared to the EU.
Pakistan has been suffering its own financial crisis lately, which somehow seems unrelated to the recent global recession. Pakistan’s problems have mostly been homegrown based on the energy crisis due to shortage of alternative energy power sources such as hydel, wind, solar and to some extent nuclear. Pakistan’s financial crisis has resulted from the withdrawal of funds from Pakistan’s stock market, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) since the coming of the new civilian government. Pakistan’s stock market, KSE, has lost close to $36 billion dollars this year in market capitalization. Resultantly, the Pakistani rupee has also borne the brunt with the value of rupee falling from around 60 to a dollar from the beginning of the year to around 80 to a dollar at the moment (many currency dealers have also been arrested in the wake of the rupee devaluation, famous among them the firm of Khanani and Kalia). Not to mention the floor imposed on the KSE to allow the stock market to breathe a sigh of relief. The sigh has converted to deep sleep as the floor remains imposed after many many weeks.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Opportunities for Pakistan in the Global Financial Slump: Economistan
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Dubai property boom halts: The News
Sunday, November 16, 2008
DUBAI: Dubai property shares plunged and its biggest private developer slashed jobs this week as the global financial crisis tightened its grip on the tiny emirate, until now synonymous with the Gulf Arab real estate boom.
Dubai’s glittering skyline and luxury tourism sector have lured investors in droves over the past five years. But property prices have begun to fall, according to brokers and banks, in one of the clearest signs to date that the bubble has burst.
A real estate crash in Dubai would call into question the futures of millions of immigrant workers, many from India and Pakistan, and whether energy exporter Abu Dhabi would run to the rescue of its high-flying but poorer neighbour.”Villas that were very hot before the crisis have fallen. The buyers were chasing the sellers but now it’s the other way round,” said Quaid Abbas, property consultant at Engel & Volkers.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Dubai property boom halts: The News
Real estate boom: The News
People liquidating bank savings to invest in property; FPCCI body on housing and construction SVP Munir Sultan says rates to remain stable and hike after March; realtors say investors fearing financial meltdown in UAE coming back home
Sunday, November 16, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Local builders in Pakistan are having a field day as the newly introduced projects all over Pakistan have received tremendous positive response marking the first signs of real estate sector revival in the country.
Real estate agents and builders said that though prices continue to remain low owing to recession - the demand for properties is increasing as investors are coming back home after trying their luck in UAE.Senior Vice President of FPCCI Sub committee on Housing and Construction, Munir Sultan predicted that the prices of properties would remain stable for the time being and would only hike after March. Estate agents and experts informed that the buyers of these properties are investors having money stashed in local and foreign banks and following the global credit crunch feared for their savings.
Sultan explained: “These are ordinary well to-do people of our society who liquidated their bank savings and opted for safe heaven investment in real estate. Properties are sound investments as no one can steal them from you and more importantly because regardless of the political or economical conditions, land assets do eventually gain value with time.”
He further said that Pakistan urgently needs to work on its investors’ confidence and the government should take steps to clear the country of its black economy that is working parallel to the legal system.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Real estate boom: The News
Sunday, November 16, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Local builders in Pakistan are having a field day as the newly introduced projects all over Pakistan have received tremendous positive response marking the first signs of real estate sector revival in the country.
Real estate agents and builders said that though prices continue to remain low owing to recession - the demand for properties is increasing as investors are coming back home after trying their luck in UAE.Senior Vice President of FPCCI Sub committee on Housing and Construction, Munir Sultan predicted that the prices of properties would remain stable for the time being and would only hike after March. Estate agents and experts informed that the buyers of these properties are investors having money stashed in local and foreign banks and following the global credit crunch feared for their savings.
Sultan explained: “These are ordinary well to-do people of our society who liquidated their bank savings and opted for safe heaven investment in real estate. Properties are sound investments as no one can steal them from you and more importantly because regardless of the political or economical conditions, land assets do eventually gain value with time.”
He further said that Pakistan urgently needs to work on its investors’ confidence and the government should take steps to clear the country of its black economy that is working parallel to the legal system.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Real estate boom: The News
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Local real estate revives as UAE market spirals down: The News
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: As property markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face a critical slump, local investors are turning away from the Arab country and are starting to look towards Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey. Experts in the field say all the investment money that had flown out of the country towards Dubai and other emirates is now coming back. “Ajman is completely dead, whereas Dubai, which had 13 per cent of Pakistani investors’ money in the real estate sector, is left grappling with eight per cent,” stated Munir Sultan, Senior Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Sub-committee on Housing and Construction.
“The UAE has injected about $40 billion for lending purposes, and mortgage lender Amlak has had to be merged owing to fears of bankruptcy,” said Sultan. He explained that Pakistanis had booked properties in Dubai and Ajman to make a profit, but eventually discovered that they had incurred a loss after being swindled by several middlemen. “There were no builders, and of course, a structure cannot stand on its own without one.”He revealed the UAE market had declined by 21 per cent. According to him, local investors who had invested in the Arab country were mostly those who had dipped one hand in shares of the local stock exchange, and the other in UAE real estate. “Since both have been hit hard at the same time, these investors are feeling the pain. It’s disastrous for Pakistani investors.”
Sultan further said the reason for the downtrend is an imbalance between the demand and supply in the UAE real estate market. He expatiated the rapid pace of construction in Dubai had led to saturation in the market.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Local real estate revives as UAE market spirals down: The News
By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: As property markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face a critical slump, local investors are turning away from the Arab country and are starting to look towards Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey. Experts in the field say all the investment money that had flown out of the country towards Dubai and other emirates is now coming back. “Ajman is completely dead, whereas Dubai, which had 13 per cent of Pakistani investors’ money in the real estate sector, is left grappling with eight per cent,” stated Munir Sultan, Senior Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Sub-committee on Housing and Construction.
“The UAE has injected about $40 billion for lending purposes, and mortgage lender Amlak has had to be merged owing to fears of bankruptcy,” said Sultan. He explained that Pakistanis had booked properties in Dubai and Ajman to make a profit, but eventually discovered that they had incurred a loss after being swindled by several middlemen. “There were no builders, and of course, a structure cannot stand on its own without one.”He revealed the UAE market had declined by 21 per cent. According to him, local investors who had invested in the Arab country were mostly those who had dipped one hand in shares of the local stock exchange, and the other in UAE real estate. “Since both have been hit hard at the same time, these investors are feeling the pain. It’s disastrous for Pakistani investors.”
Sultan further said the reason for the downtrend is an imbalance between the demand and supply in the UAE real estate market. He expatiated the rapid pace of construction in Dubai had led to saturation in the market.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Local real estate revives as UAE market spirals down: The News
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Emaar Ceo Changed: Dawn
KARACHI, Nov 6: Emaar Pakistan, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Emaar Properties, has appointed Dr Dia Malaeb as new chief executive officer.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Emaar Ceo Changed: Dawn
Thursday, October 30, 2008
DHA Valley List of Unsuccessful Candidates Released
For a complete list of unsuccessful candidates for DHA Valley 5 and 8 Marla residential plots please click on the following link,
DHA Valley Ballot Result
DHA Valley Ballot Result
How Wall Street's Bust Threatens Dubai's Boom: Time
By Scott MacLeod / Cairo Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Emirati investors follow the movement of stock prices at the Dubai Financial Market on Oct. 12
MARWAN NAAMANI/ AFP/ Getty
Saif Ahmed began living the Dubai dream five years ago. The University of Toronto business school grad moved to the Gulf city-state and quickly co-founded property developer Universal Canlink Inc. By 2006, the firm was turning over $15 million a year as its brochures lured foreign investors with tales of "meteoric" growth in the Dubai real estate market. Now, as the global credit crisis spirals from Wall Street to the Middle East, Ahmed is coming back down to earth. There's still interest, he explains, but the buying frenzy in Dubai is gone. "Before, people were buying blindly without asking much about the details," says Ahmed, a Canadian. "Now such risk takers have disappeared from the market."
Among the harbingers of the changing mood: Nakheel, the developer of Dubai's proposed kilometer-high skyscraper near Jebel Ali airport, recently announced that it is reassessing its overall staffing needs in line with "predictions of a downturn in the global economy." Boardrooms and coffee shops alike are buzzing with talk about the coming fall. The Cairo-based investment bank EFG-Hermes recently predicted that Dubai property values could tumble as much as 20% in the next three years. Share prices of Emaar, a public Dubai company that has become one of the biggest real estate developers in the world, have fallen by two-thirds since January.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: How Wall Street's Bust Threatens Dubai's Boom: Time
Saif Ahmed began living the Dubai dream five years ago. The University of Toronto business school grad moved to the Gulf city-state and quickly co-founded property developer Universal Canlink Inc. By 2006, the firm was turning over $15 million a year as its brochures lured foreign investors with tales of "meteoric" growth in the Dubai real estate market. Now, as the global credit crisis spirals from Wall Street to the Middle East, Ahmed is coming back down to earth. There's still interest, he explains, but the buying frenzy in Dubai is gone. "Before, people were buying blindly without asking much about the details," says Ahmed, a Canadian. "Now such risk takers have disappeared from the market."
Among the harbingers of the changing mood: Nakheel, the developer of Dubai's proposed kilometer-high skyscraper near Jebel Ali airport, recently announced that it is reassessing its overall staffing needs in line with "predictions of a downturn in the global economy." Boardrooms and coffee shops alike are buzzing with talk about the coming fall. The Cairo-based investment bank EFG-Hermes recently predicted that Dubai property values could tumble as much as 20% in the next three years. Share prices of Emaar, a public Dubai company that has become one of the biggest real estate developers in the world, have fallen by two-thirds since January.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: How Wall Street's Bust Threatens Dubai's Boom: Time
Clouds could gather even above Dubai: Napi Online
2008. 10. 27. 23:00:00
If there is a place in the world that would be able to emerge relatively unscathed from the global financial crisis, it is Dubai and countries like it - most of us would have thought.
But according to a recent study published by Morgan Stanley, property prices could fall by 10 percent in Dubai by 2010. What could have happened in this country, which has shifted its focus away from oil revenues, and more toward property developments and tourism? (See NAPI Real Estate, issue 3)Speculators burned
The simplest explanation is probably that the room for rising demand is not infinite even in the Emirates - which can shock companies used to easy profits. Meanwhile, simultaneously to the publication of the report, a significant amount of speculative or "hot" money has exited Dubai as well, writes The Economist. This was because some investors had betted on the United Arab Emirates de-pegging its currency from the dollar in order to combat its double-digit inflation rate, and had hoped to profit from such a move. However, when they realised that this wasn't going to happen, they withdrew their money - as a result of which, there is currently significantly less money to be spent going around in the country's economy.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Clouds could gather even above Dubai: Napi Online
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Property prices drop by 15-30pc since Jan: Dawn
KARACHI, Oct 25: Property prices have further declined by at least 15-30 per cent this year as investors have been on the sidelines since 2005 owing to uncertain political and economic conditions in the country.
Even the formation of a new government after the February general elections and the PPP-MQM alliance in Sindh has failed to woo the investors. As a result, there has been no impact on the property market after these developments. Real estate dealers had estimated price hike by 20-30 per cent after the PPP-MQM alliance.
Real estate dealers said that investors were more interested in ‘playing with the dollar’ instead of taking risk in the property.
There are also reports that investors have been trying their luck in Malaysia and some other Islamic countries rather than property markets of Dubai and Pakistan.
Giving a brief review of prices, Owner of Pak Estate at Clifton Khan Zubair Shaheen said that a 500-yard plot in some phases of DHA is now priced at Rs7.5 million and the market lacks any enthusiasm among the buyers despite massive fall in prices. The same plot was available at Rs10 million in Dec 2007, falling to Rs8.5 million ahead of election. He added that even buyers are not ready to lift it at Rs7 million these days.
He said that a 1,000 yards plot was available at Rs18 million in December 2007. Its price had fallen to Rs15 million ahead of election and further fell to Rs12 million.
Khan said that some investors had been active in Malaysia and Oman after Dubai. He said only eight to 10 deals of property were taking place in DHA office as compared to over 100 deals in the boom period.
Chairman Clifton-Defense Real Estate Association Arif Malik was of the view that the price of property has declined by 30-40 per cent in the DHA, especially from January till now.
“Investors are busy in investing in dollar rather than property,” he said adding that there were hardly any investors interested in real estate. He also said that some investors, after making windfall from Dubai property boom, are now active in Malaysia.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Property prices drop by 15-30pc since Jan: Dawn
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