Mansoor Sadiq

Pakistan needs a viable and effective real estate regulatory authority to monitor this fast-expanding sector as well as to protect the rights of the buyers and brokers. The phenomenon that real estate is simply limited to buying and selling property has become an outdated understanding, as with sprawling housing societies, the real estate has turned into an allied industry, and this very sector has become one of the largest segments of Pakistan’s economy.

The real-estate sector is directly linked with 40 allied industries and over 200 sub-industries, which include construction, steel, iron, brick kilns, electronics, marble, ceramics, wooden doors, glass and many others. Being a large employment-providing sector and having vital position for the country’s economic growth, it has yet to assume institutional approach and respective development regulations to be more viable for national economic development.

Faiez Hassan Seyal, a real estate expert, told WealthPK that this sector is flourishing with rising demand for new houses with an escalating population of the country. He said that urbanisation in Pakistan is rapidly rising contrary to other regional countries and in next few years as a large portion of population will move to cities. In this perspective, he said, the construction and real-estate sectors have to fulfil this growing need either through planned or unplanned housing societies.

Faiez pointed out that contribution on part of construction sector in view of GDP (gross domestic product) growth has been undervalued. The real estate industry despite having a vast scope is undocumented, and is in need of a regulatory authority to streamline contributions on part of construction industry for the development of the national economy.

Kamran Javed Kayani, a senior official from zameen.com, one of Pakistan’s leading real estate developing and marketing entrepreneurs, said while talking to WealthPK that almost every individual is directly or indirectly related to the real estate. Kayani said that a real estate regulatory authority is needed to monitor real estate agents and developers. He pointed out that malpractices are common in the real estate sector as many agents are neither licensed nor used to follow any prescribed policies and standards. He said a regulatory body on the national level will keep a check on people involved in malpractices.

He maintained that courts in Pakistan are overburdened with property related disputes, and it sometimes takes decades to resolve a petty property case. He said a regulatory authority may also help in resolving the property disputes in a quick way and reduce burden on courts. The unbridled urbanisation in Pakistan has also resulted in various challenges in the urban centres, which can be resolved at such a platform. It would bring the real estate sector within the ambit of the formal economy and help in enhancing tax collections.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk