Incorporating Best International Practices into Pakistan's Property Market

The real estate market of Pakistan has experienced its fair share of ups and downs. Like most major sectors of the country, real estate is vulnerable to political and economic upheavals. Therefore, it is not surprising to see trends of stagnation followed by sudden drop or hike in value. However, in the last few years, Pakistan’s real estate market has undergone a unique transition, which had little to do with economic or political influences.

Zameen Developments lays foundation stone of Mall 35 in Rawalpindi

One thing that has had an impact on every major industry in the world has been technology. It has transformed the way business is conducted and, consequently, it has also had a considerable impact on the realty sector.

Online property portals like Zameen.com, and similar websites in other industries, are just the beginning as the tech revolution sweeps across Pakistan. Due to recent innovations introduced to the property market with the help of new technologies, the local industry is now capable of implementing the best international practices — particularly pertaining to real estate buying, selling, and development.

The Need for International Best Practices in Pakistan’s Property Market

Interestingly, as technology began changing Pakistan’s real estate landscape,, its earliest benefits were felt by consumers. It allowed the common citizens to have access to all the information they could possibly want about the property market. It enabled them to keep up to date with the changing dynamics of the local real estate sector and empowered them to demand more transparency. The local market was forced to respond accordingly to this new demand for greater awareness, responsibility and honesty. This is why the traditional market practices in use for decades are being replaced by modern methodologies.

Introduction of Real Estate Best Practices in the Local Industry

In the past few years, there have been several evident changes in the local real estate sector. Not only have people used their understanding of the market to both create and exploit feasible opportunities, but the industry has itself given rise to relevant products and services aimed at improving the lives of consumers.

Here are a few real estate best practices identifiable or expected in Pakistan’s real estate market:

Adapting to Socio-economic Changes

Socio-economic changes in any country have a major impact on almost all of its industries. However, due to the nature of the real estate industry, it may be affected most of all. The property sector serves a particular purpose, as it provides people with shelter, stability and safety. And these are the primary facets of life that may be threatened during times of social, political, economic, and cultural changes. Therefore, it is important that the property sector evolves with the changing dynamics of the market and the needs and demands of the people.

In Pakistan, we are slowly witnessing the market adapting to socio-economic changes. An example is the government’s Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP) initiative that is aimed at providing affordable homes to Pakistanis that do not have the funds to buy accommodation in the current property market.

Similarly, more and more people have been favouring the idea of vertical expansion in order to preserve agricultural land. Zameen Opal, Ace Mall and Mall 35 are projects of Zameen Developments – currently under development – in line with this vision.

Additionally, the latest property projects in the country have taken into account smart and green living in order to overcome the challenge of climate change and provide their residents with a healthy and clean lifestyle.

Regulating the Industry

The concept of property fraud is not new, to put it mildly. However, access to international trends and real-time information has made the stakeholders more educated and less vulnerable to such schemes.

The government has also been taking a keen interest in regulating the country’s real estate sector. Recently, it formally recognized the property sector as an ‘industry’ and began ensuring that all development authorities were abiding by the law.

Furthermore, property websites like Zameen.com ensure that customers have access to approved and reliable developers, property agents, and real estate projects. Using PropTech

The relevant use of information technology for different elements of real estate has truly transformed the industry. Also called real estate technology, PropTech is the use of digital tools to enhance property buying and selling.

Now, the idea of an online property portal itself is a part of PropTech. But there are many other ways to utilise information technology for real estate.

For example, Zameen.com offers search trends and price indices, which make it easier for customers and agents to identify popular localities and average property prices. They also recently launched the Plot Finder tool that offers digitised maps of properties in a number of housing societies across the country. And in an upcoming development, the company also plans to launch a toll called Property Bank in a bid to address thousands of seller leads regularly lost to market inefficiency.

Benefitting from Digital Media

In the current competitive business climate, it is hard to survive without the support of digital media. But it is not just property businesses that digital media has helped. In fact, it gives the industry’s various stakeholders the advantage of keeping up to date with the latest developments in the sector, connect with each other, and have access to real estate content.

Companies like Zameen.com greatly benefit from digital media. Property websites generate a lot of leads from social media, which also helps identify the general demand in the local market — helping the industry to find appropriate solutions to the myriad of problems that arise daily. Similarly, Zameen Forum is another digital platform that invites common people to initiate a dialogue on the current goings-on in the local property sector.

Empowering the Industry

One way to empower the local real estate sector is to make it more accessible for the common man.

This particular industry deals a lot with certain elements (taxes, laws, property terms, paperwork, etc) that are not comprehensible to everyone. As per real estate best practices, it is the job of the market players to educate, and consequentially empower, these people.

In Pakistan, people are gradually becoming more educated and interested in real estate. Major real estate organisations like Zameen.com have played an effective role in this regard. However, the country has a long way to go, given that a large part of the population has minimal access to the industry.

In conclusion, it is safe to say that Pakistan is well on its way to adopting international best practices pertaining to real estate. But surely the country has a lot more to do before it can reach the top rungs of the global competitive ladder.