March 18, 2007	Sunday	Safar 28, 1428

KARACHI, March 17: The property market, which has been lacklustre for the last one and half years, is yet to feel the radiation from the ongoing political crisis as there has been no fluctuation in the real estate prices.

Buying and selling activities have further slowed down since the entire nation is awaiting the outcome of ongoing judicial and political crisis.

However property market players forecast dark clouds of uncertainty in case of a change in Islamabad which may result in downward journey of prices in the already laggard real estate market.

Khan Zubair Shaheen and Abdul Wahab Parekh, owners of Pak Estate and Parekh Estate in Clifton, fear that property prices may witness 20-30 per cent decline if any change occurs in the capital.“In case the tussle between the government and the judiciary settles down peacefully then things will remain normal”.

However, they said that in case the current situation lingers on for more than 15-20 days then it may have a negative impact on the market in shape of suspension in buying and selling activities.

They said that currently 10-20 property documents changed hands daily among buyers and sellers at the Defense Housing Authority (DHA), which they considered was very slow.

The posh areas had witnessed a booming period from 2001-2005 in which prices of plots and bungalows had quadrupled due to heavy presence of investors and massive inflow of remittances.

Currently, investors have been on the sidelines for the last six to eight months perhaps they might be anticipating some kind of political crisis in the election year. On the other hand, the on-going judicial row has further made them hesitant in taking risk in real estate prices.

However, in dull market situation investors usually lift up property at lower rates in anticipation of fetching huge returns in short-term, but for the last two years investors have not been able to make hefty returns owing to persistent political crisis.

The imposition of CVT in July 2006 had further jolted investors’ plan to play smoothly in property market.

Since April 2005 property prices had been facing various upward and downward corrections. But market players said that prices had dropped by 35 per cent since April 2005 as property deals had been restricted to only genuine buyers and sellers.

Sales Executive of Civic Associates Gulshan-e-Iqbal Abdal Magray also fear decline in prices by 35-40 per cent in case some political change takes place in Pakistan. Otherwise property market will remain normal.

Owner of Nazimabad Estate in North Nazimabad Block H Mohammad Najeeb said that during the last one week property transactions had further slowed down as a result of ongoing judicial row.