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.

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