LAHORE - The realty sector lurched into October 15 largely portraying a mixed picture. Some localities saw impressive price hikes, some posted less-than-modest numbers, while others represented stability on every front and sauntered through the month with absolute ease. Per stats scrupulously compiled by Zameen.com, Karachi’s market continued its roaring upward ascent. The only exception was Bahria Town Karachi (BTK), where even though development work is underway at good pace, prices plunged. Conversely, DHA Karachi and DHA City Karachi (DCK) posted great numbers and remained a popular choice for investors.
The real estate market of Lahore posted varied numbers. While Bahria Town remained steadfast, DHA Lahore’s performance was disappointing. Nevertheless, a decline in rates in DHA does not imply that investors have changed focus, as this locality maintained its top position in Zameen.com’s popularity index. Rates in LDA Avenue I dipped too, but as we foresaw this coming we weren’t too surprised.
Islamabad’s property market put forth a mixed bag as well. Both Bahria Town and DHA Islamabad maintained their price inclines, with Bahria Town posting spectacular numbers for the 10-marla category. As always, Sector F-11 retained its consistent growth, but Sector E-11 saw a drop in rates.
DHA, once again, remained the most popular locality across the board, with one noticeable exception: Gushan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi saw speedily rising demand for homes and knocked DHA down the second place. To our surprise, Bani Gala was, once again, one of the top five localities for homes in the federal capital this month.

Lahore
Even though Lahore’s realty sector didn’t see any kind of extraordinary push this time around, it still experienced healthy sale-purchase activity.
DHA Lahore failed to impress and both 10-marla and 1-kanal categories saw controlled dips of 2.82% and 1.95% respectively.
Oddly, despite battling many controversies, prices climbed upwards in Bahria Town. Ten-marla plots rose by a significant 6.58% and 1-kanal plots also saw a decent 1.64% rise. Yet, we foresee rates dipping here in the months ahead as this locality has increased transfer charges, which will somewhat disrupt sale-purchase activity.
LDA Avenue I was another locality that experienced a decline in rates. We saw this coming because electricity has not been supplied even though possession has been handed over in the clear areas. Because of this, LDA Avenue I saw a controlled drop of 3.33% for 10-marla plots. One-kanal plots, on the other hand, remained stable and posted a 0.62% rise.
As reliable as always, Lahore Cantt posted 1.39% and 0.94% rises in the 10-marla and 1-kanal categories.
Lahore Cantt registered a 4.68% rental yield, the highest in the 10-marla homes category, while Johar Town enjoyed the highest rental yield for 1-kanal houses – an impressive 4.44%.

TOP 5 LOCALITIES FOR PLOTS & HOMES IN LAHORE | OCTOBER 2015
PLOTS
1. DHA LAHORE 28.91%
2. BAHRIA TOWN 10.09%
3. BAHRIA ORCHARD 2.35%
4. STATE LIFE 1.85%
5. DHA RAHBAR 1.84%
HOMES
6. DHA LAHORE 11.99%
7. BAHRIA TOWN 6.70%
8. JOHAR TOWN 2.70%
9. IQBAL TOWN 2.63%
10. LAHORE CANTT 2.44%

ISLAMABAD
In October 2015, Islamabad’s realty market followed in the footsteps of Lahore and brought forth a varied bag of ups and downs. DHA Islamabad was an example of this mixed picture, where the average price of 10-marla plots fell by 1.75% and that of 1-kanal plots rose by 3.72%. A sustained upward climb is expected in the months to come.
Sector E-11 unexpectedly saw controlled drops of 1.84% and 2.03% in the 10-marla and 1-kanal categories correspondingly. It looks like investors have turned to societies under development, which may have caused the price dip in this locality. However, the declining rates do not necessarily indicate waning popularity among investors.
Bahria Town had a good month. The average price of 10-marla plots rose by a drastic 6.17% and 1-kanal rates remained stable, registering a negligible 0.07% drop.
Sector F-11 was as bankable as ever and showed consistent growth of 1.22% for 10-marla and 2.75% for 1-kanal plots.
In terms of rental yields, Bahria Town raced ahead of all other localities and listed a decent

3.68% for 10-marla homes and 4.07% for 1-kanal homes.
Once again, Sector F-11 maintained its position as the most expensive area. Here, the average price of a 10-marla house towered at PKR 36,133,103 and that of a 1-kanal home stood at a staggering PKR 68,856,734.

TOP 5 LOCALITIES FOR PLOTS & HOMES IN ISLAMABD | OCTOBER 2015
Plots
1. DHA Islamabad 21.80%
2. Bahria Town 7.52%
3. Gulberg 3.83%
4. Sector B-17 3.02%
5. FECHS 2.47%
Homes
1. DHA Islamabad 8.79%
2. Bahria Town 6.60%
3. Sector E-11 2.54%
4. Sector G-11 2.36%
5. Bani Gala 2.14%

KARACHI
As the Overview reflects, Karachi’s property market continued its boisterous mount in October 2015. The only exception to this was BTK. It looks like the allegations hurled by the Rangers have unsettled investors as even though development work is in full swing, a noticeable fall in prices was noted. The average price of a 250-yard2 plot fell by a jarring 8.04% and that of a 500-yard2 plot fell by 8.56%.
On the other hand, DHA Karachi effortlessly sauntered through the month, proudly posting controlled rises of 1.43% and 1.90% for the 250-yard2 and 500-yard2 categories