The Real estate sector of Pakistan offers a huge amount of potential for the country’s economic growth. As it encompasses every form of activity taking place on the earth’s surface, it engages a significant portion of the economy to be influenced through real estate transactions. Concerning the vitality and significance of this sector towards economic growth, it is extremely pertinent to overcome all the challenges and obstacles restricting the potential of real estate to be optimally exploited in a country like Pakistan.
The current share of 5.6% of the country’s GDP could easily be increased by taking necessary corrective measures to eliminate fundamental roadblocks. In a young country like Pakistan with a burgeoning population and rapid urbanisation, the time is ripe to transform its real estate sector and make it at par with China and Turkey in terms of GDP share. The population explosion is causing a tremendous increase in housing demand and the requirement for an increased commercial footprint.
The country’s real estate sector suffers from several shortcomings, including regulatory and legal obstacles, lengthy and complicated transaction processes, and compromised market fundamentals reflecting badly upon transparency indicators. In terms of the regulatory framework, the real estate market in Pakistan needs a proper framework well-equipped to ensure transparency and fairness. The government should endeavour to establish an independent regulatory body to oversee the sector and ensure that all transactions made are legally and ethically correct. This can help prevent issues such as land grabbing and price manipulation, subsequently building market trust.
Improving infrastructure is another crucial intervention that could provide real impetus to the growth in the real estate sector. The government should invest in building roads, water supply systems, and electricity grids in underdeveloped areas to make developing and maintaining properties much easier. These interventions and various tax incentives could attract more investors to the sector and provide much-needed momentum to the sector’s growth and economic contribution.
The digitisation of land records is another meaningful step that can critically help to overcome prevailing challenges and obstacles in the real estate sector. Every stakeholder, including the government, must come forward and invest in digitising land records to ensure that the property ownership and transaction are clear and transparent. To this end, IMARAT Group of Companies has already taken the lead by digitising more than 4 million properties across Pakistan, inspiring every other stakeholder to follow suit. In addition, political stability is an overarching factor that plays a fundamental role in ensuring a conducive and enabling environment for businesses and development to take root and flourish. The prevailing political uncertainty and polarisation must be immediately dealt with in order to curtail economic slowdown. It is, therefore, imperative for state institutions to act and immediately restore an environment of trust, political stability, and economic progression to help every growth engine, including the real estate sector, to perform in an optimal manner. Let us resolve to embark upon the journey of economic progression. Let us reform the real estate sector of Pakistan.
This article is written by Sayyid Mubasher Gilani. He is a Content Writer at the PropSure Digital Solutions Pvt Limited.
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