9.4%, up from the previous month’s 8.2% and the same period last year’s 3.2%. (PBS). In actuality, this level was the highest since November 2013.
The average property price in Pakistan’s largest cities was PKR 10,402 (US$ 73) per square foot in the first quarter of 2019, up 6.25% from the same period last year but actually down 2.89% when adjusted for inflation in Lahore.
In Q1 2019, the average price of a home in Karachi was PKR 13,158 (US$ 93), up 4.25% from the previous year but down 4.62% when adjusted for inflation.
In Q1 2019, the average price of a home in Islamabad was PKR 9,985 (US$ 70) per square foot, up 7.01% from the previous quarter but down 2.2% in actual terms.
In just two years, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) fell by almost 25% against the US dollar, from PKR 104.804 to PKR 139.177 to US$1 in March 2017. As the government negotiates a bailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address its soaring current account and fiscal deficits that threaten to cause a balance of payments crisis, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central bank, devalued its currency multiple times last year.
In light of the recent currency devaluations, housing in Pakistan is now more affordable from the standpoint of an investor using US dollars.
According to the SBP, despite the nation’s problems, the economy expanded by a solid 5.2% in 2018, 5.4% in 2017, 4.6% in 2016, and 4.1% in both 2014 and 2015. According to the Asian Development Bank, during FY2019, economic growth is anticipated to drop to about 3.9%. (ADB).
Foreigners who live and work in Pakistan are able to purchase or rent real estate. The Board of Investment and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan must, however, satisfy specific legislative requirements before they may proceed, according to the government.
