A detailed analysis of comparative cost is available for the Tan Hoa-Lo Gom project in Vietnam. The cost of well-done upgrading works out to US$325 and that of a low-rise apartment works out to US$5,400. The maintenance of the upgrading option in collective terms is zero whereas the cost of maintenance of the medium-rise apartment is US$75 per month, of which US$29 per apartment is the cost of repayment of loan. This makes the cost per apartment far too large for low-income groups to afford, as a result of which most of them are in debt. The project did not even consider high-rise options because of the excessive cost.

There are complaints from all over the world that real estate developers do not deliver housing on time and arbitrarily increase their cost during construction. For example, in the cost of Toki [Mass Development Housing Authority] in Turkiye, the instalments paid for owning an apartment was placed at 44 percent of the minimum wage — already too high for low-income groups to afford. During construction, this was increased by 1.5 percent of the minimum wage. Projects which were supposed to be completed in 1.5 years were still incomplete after 4 years.

In Karachi, the role of real estate developers in cheating their clients by ad-hoc increases in prices, time delays, and the absence of utilities is well known, because of which citizens are afraid to invest and, in addition, have serious security concerns. Throughout the world, especially in the Global South, there is a serious need to manage the real estate lobby.

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 2nd, 2025