Real estate outlook of Lahore and Islamabad in 2015
Most of us have had the opportunity of travelling from Lahore to Islamabad, or the other way around. Almost invariably, this experience highlights the fact that these two cities are different in several aspects – Lahore being more of a cultural hub full of vibrancy and urbanity and Islamabad being the planned Federal Capital of Pakistan with a gorgeous backdrop of green hills and a serene environment.However, despite these differences both cities are experiencing growth in their real estate markets.
Let’s have a look at the picture the realty sectors of Lahore and Islamabad portrayed in January 2015 and discuss what the future might look like. According tosales search trends provided by Zameen.com, Pakistan’s top real estate portal, the most popular localities for homes in Lahore in the beginning of 2015 were Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Bahria Town and Johar Town. In Islamabad,people were more interested in buying homes in DHA, Sector E-11 and Bahria Town.
Over the course of one year, from January 2014 to January 2015, the average sale price of a 10-marla house in Lahore increased by 14.05 percent, while the average sale price of a 1-kanal house increased by 16.26 percent according to figures from Zameen.com. In the case of Islamabad, the increase in the average sale prices for 10-marla houses and 1-kanal houseswas 30.37 percent and 2.45 percent, in that order.
Residential plots also saw a surge in average sale prices in Lahore. On average,a 10-marla plot in Lahore was 11.32 percent more expensive in January 2015 compared with the same period last year. Likewise, in January 2015 a 1-kanal plot in Lahore was 17.61 percent more expensive on average than it was January 2014.
On the contrary, while 10-marla plots in Islamabad saw their average sale price rise by 6.38 percent, the average sale price of 1-kanal plotsin the Federal Capital fell by 6.21 percent over the course of the year.
Also performing particularly well in these two cities was the rental market, which saw rising rental rates over the year. In Lahore, the average rentfor a 10-marla home went up by 16.64 percent from January 2014 to January 2015, while in Islamabad the average rent for a 10-marla house increased by 26.78 percent in the same time period.
It is important to note that this surge in rental prices is continuing as we speak. From December 2014 to January 2015 alone, the average rentfor 10-marla houses increased 7.35 percent in Lahore and 14.91 percent in Islamabad. In general, the property markets of the two cities are looking up and in the coming months, they are likely to perform consistently if the security and political situation of the country remains stable.
