Investing in Pakistan

alishaht · May 12th, 2009, 02:59 PM

My husband is considering to invest in property in Pakistan. I have talked to a few people and they dont think it's a good idea with the situation there. From my knowledge, property prices in Pakistan are always rising.

There are a few schemes out these days by DHA Islamabad and Bahria housing where you can invest in plots. Is it a advisable to go for one of these schemes?

fayax · May 12th, 2009, 03:05 PM

Unless you are living there, close by and can keep an eye on it yes its a good idea.

If you are here and some person rarely looks it...dont do it.

People sell and resell properties without the knowledge of the actual owner.

SID_NY · May 12th, 2009, 03:18 PM

I think you can only do it IF there a responsible person in Pakistan whom you can trust and who can 100% take care of the property. Also, someone must live there so that the property doesnt remain vacant.
So if you have this if-then-else condition fulfilled,you can go ahead otherwise strictly NO.

EWill · May 12th, 2009, 06:01 PM

Investing in DHA( Khi, Lhr or Isb), Bahria Town, Naval Housing or Air Force Housing is not a bad idea. Relatively, there process is straight forward, hassle free and your property is safe compare to other areas in Pakistan.

alishaht · May 13th, 2009, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EWill

Investing in DHA( Khi, Lhr or Isb), Bahria Town, Naval Housing or Air Force Housing is not a bad idea. Relatively, there process is straight forward, hassle free and your property is safe compare to other areas in Pakistan.

Do you see the property prices going up in the future there? I just dont want to invest and then sell at the same price later. If that would be the case than I would rather buy something in UK.

I have family there who can take care of the property, so that's not an issue.

sumorani · May 13th, 2009, 01:51 PM

There are other factors to consider. The main one being the exchange rate risk. My FIL bought real estate in a very nice part in ISB about 2 years ago. The prices went up but he ended up losing money because of exchange rate fluctuations. Of course the loss isn't realized because he hasn't sold it yet but the rate is still pretty bad compared to when he bought the real estate and now prices are going down as well.

At this point if you have family there and since the real estate prices have declined, instead of just purchasing land I would recommend having a house constructed and renting it out since you don't live in Pakistan and don't have a need for it as a primary residence. I was actually talking to my FIL about it a few days ago and we calculated about a 6% return on equity for a house in DHA lahore excluding exchange rate risk and appreciation.