Naveed Ahmed

Digital mapping will bring a revolution in the real estate sector of Pakistan to boost the economy by enhancing trade activities, WealthPK reports. The geographic information system (GIS) combines computer graphics technology with database structures for digital mapping. The system allows users to make better real estate analyses, maintain a secure land ownership record and bring transparency and accessibility to the market. This technology will soon revolutionise Pakistan’s real estate sector. Muhammad Khan, the General Manager of the Remote Sensing and Geo-Information System Lab, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), said that digital mapping had rapidly evolved as cities and municipalities started using the geographic information system to solve problems related to accurate information about the property.

“The location of a property is crucial for purchase, sale and investment. The site and proximity of any plot of land can significantly increase or decrease its overall value due to future development prospects,” he said. He said the real estate industry relied on in-person interactions to close deals. He said that digital mapping could make the process faster and more convenient, as agents and clients could visualise real prospects of the property with its help without covering a long distance to visit the site and finalise a deal. “In recent years, PropTech (property technology) has significantly changed the nature of the sector.

Interactive digital mapping has enabled people to view the location and locality of any plot of land. This technology allows individuals, businesses and urban planners to find suitable land, analyse building sites and make better decisions,” said Muhammad Khan. Moreover, several layers of additional data are placed on top of the base map to make it useful for a wide range of purposes. As a result of this capability, the GIS system can provide users with a deeper understanding of location data, identify patterns, establish relationships and assist them in making better decisions in planning for the future.

While explaining the application of digital mapping, Muhammad Khan said that government and financial institutions could use mapping data to create virtual land title databases to document the real estate sector. “Since Pakistan lacks such a database, land grabbing and ownership issues have flooded the courts,” he added. He said that banks and financial institutions in the developed world heavily relied on mapping data for risk assessment and credit approvals. Pakistan’s real estate sector lacks proper documentation of land records. The problem exists because land registries are still maintained using manual registers, which are prone to tampering and damage over time.

Muhammad Khan said that in many cases, multiple people claimed a single piece of land, and no system could provide a way for dispute settlement in such instances. “Therefore, a system that digitally maps every piece of land to its rightful owner can bring the much-needed transparency, which this sector lacks,” he added. It can streamline dispute settlement in courts and increase investors’ confidence in the real estate market of Pakistan. The process can significantly improve the quality of real estate products offered on multiple platforms while helping Pakistan to revolutionise the sector. “Digital mapping will improve the real estate market and reduce transaction costs,” he told WealthPK.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk