Investment from overseas Pakistanis ‘picking up’

LONDON: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a leading real estate company taking investment to Pakistan from the United Kingdom has said that there’s been a slump in the market for a few months but now the investment is picking up with buyers showing more interest and actually buying affordable plots.

The Citi Housing Society’s Maryam Hamza said that Pakistanis in the UK are increasingly investing in Pakistan’s housing schemes as a way to secure long-term investment.

Maryam Hamza was speaking to the Geo and The News at the launching ceremony in a Mayfair hotel of Citi Housing Society Jhelum’s Exclusive Overseas Eiffel Tower Block. This is the fifth project launched by Citi Housing after completing housing societies in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Multan.

Ms Hamza said that regardless of whether the economic situation of Pakistan is good or bad, the overseas community invests in real estate sector and that has become a permanent trend. She said the new phenomenon is to invest in the low-priced, affordable housing schemes.

She said: “With 5 marla residential plots priced under 2 million and 10 marla prices falling under 4 million rupees, Citi Housing Jhelum seeks to tap into the urban middle-class market by providing them with reasonable prices and also an installment plan so that it is easier for overseas investors to buy a property. We have received phenomenal response for all our schemes. We have broken records and set new benchmarks and that has happened only because our prices are so competitive.”

Rana Zahid Ali, who is Managing Director of the project, said: “With a down payment of £1500 and 26 monthly payments of £310, you can own a five marla plot in the best location of Jhelum.” He went on to add that investment from UK customers had substantially increased in the last few months given a favourable exchange rate for the pound.

Rana Zahid Ali said that one of the main concerns of investors is always security but the situation has now improved. He said several international websites have declared Pakistan as the most favoured and exciting travel destination and that has created a genuine, positive environment for investment.

Speaking to this correspondent, Hamza Raza Malik, the Director of Citi Housing said: “The prices are very competitive and we have provided all the facilities from schools to hospitals there. We are here in London to serve our overseas customers in every way. Our customers can get their government-endorsed registries and allotment letters here in London.”

Citi Housing is building the largest replica of the Eiffel Tower in their Jhelum housing project. Hamza further went on to say: “There is no housing project like this in a 50-mile radius; we hope to uplift the standards of living of the people of Jhelum. The overseas block will be a gated community within a gated community. We have left no stone unturned to provide a safe and relaxing environment for our overseas customers."

He specified that prices will be rescheduled after two months and there is a high probability that they will increase by at least 25% in the coming months. There is an 8.5 million unit backlog of housing in Pakistan as the urban housing demand is over 350000 units per year. Being the seventh most populous country in the world with a population of over 200 million, Pakistan’s urban population has also grown by 2.7 percent and is estimated to be at least 75.5 million.