ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: After a year-long slump in real estate sector in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, some activities point to an upward trend in the business.

It is expected that prices of plots in private housing schemes, which declined even below the normal rates, will increase again in the days to come.

However, the confidence of genuine buyers is yet to be fully restored on private housing schemes. There are reports that sale, purchase and transfer of plots have started in some of the schemes where the management had obtained the required land and started development activities.

The prices of plots in private and government-owned housing schemes, which had declined by over 50 per cent in the last two years, are improving now. For instance, the price of a 500 sq yard plot in Defence Housing Scheme Islamabad is now Rs6 million to Rs6.5 million. During the slump period, its price had declined to Rs4 million to Rs4.5 million.

Many property dealers, who had closed their business, are coming back with the hope for another boom in the real estate business.

Similarly, rents of residential and commercial units are increasing these days in the twin cities, especially in Islamabad.

The reasons are shortage of houses and costly rental packages offered to the foreign nationals residing in the federal capital, who usually don't mind paying heavy rents.

The prices of houses in Islamabad are not as high as they were two years ago. Keeping in view the stability of prices, some experts suggest that this was the 'right time' to purchase or invest in the real estate.

But, on the other hand people are trying to get refund of their money invested in various private housing schemes, which had drained billions of rupees from the market but failed to purchase the required land and start development work.

According to the authorities concerned over 80 private housing schemes were launched in the twin cities, but the management of only a dozen obtained the required land and NOC from the concerned departments to start the development work.

The developers and plot owners of over a dozen housing schemes in the vicinity of the proposed airport at Fatehjang (Rawalpindi) have high hopes about success of these schemes, provided the ambiguity ink construction of the new airport is over. Some circles believe that the new airport cannot be built there due to the sensitivity of Kala Chitta Mountain, which accommodates some sensitive installations.

Earlier, all private housing schemes in residential areas of Fatehjang could not acquire land or conduct development activities within five-kilometre radius of the negative zone around the proposed airport. However, the authorities have reduced the radius of the negative zone from five to three kilometres, which would benefit around half a dozen housing schemes.

In Islamabad private housing schemes are being established in two areas — Zone-II and Zone-V. The schemes in Zone-II, which are closer to the site of the proposed airport, are expected to do better business than those situated in Zone-V.

Several fake housing societies, misuse of funds and unqualified developers in such schemes had badly hit the genuine schemes and had betrayed the confidence of the genuine buyers.

The concerned departments like Capital Development Authority (CDA) and district administration of Islamabad were equally responsible for the situation as the process of 'Ishtamaal' (consolidation of land) was never started in the federal capital generating fraud in sale and purchase of the land.

It also led to the litigation in numerous cases. Because of this specific reason most of the developers of private housing schemes have failed to get the required land to develop their schemes.

Unlike in other provinces, the small pieces of land are owned by petty landlords, in Islamabad. In the absence of land consolidation system, the people may know in which mozas and khasra their land is, but they don't know their exact location. This is the reason the developers of private housing schemes face difficulties to get the required land. Even if they manage to do so, it is generally challenged in the courts by one or more of the landholders who don't want to sell the land to the developers in the same khasra.