Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad
Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad are major cities of Pakistan. Karachi is the economic center and most populated city of Pakistan. Karachi is also capital of the province, Sindh. Lahore is the capital of Pakistan’s most populated province, Punjab. Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan. Karachi’s population is 25 million, Lahore’s population is 15 million and Islamabad’s population is 3 million. Pakistan real estate activities revolves around these three major cities as people prefer to live in these cities due to good employment opportunities and better medical, educational & recreational facilities. But due to huge influx of people to these cities, property prices are sky high in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and now these are the least livable cities in Pakistan. Just have a look on the average house prices in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
House prices in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad
Average house price in Karachi
Average 5 Marla house price in Karachi = 12,000,000 PKR
Average 10 Marla house price in Karachi = 23,000,000 PKR
Average 1 Kanal house price in Karachi = 40,000,000 PKR
Average house price in Karachi = 25,000,000 PKR
Average house price in Lahore
Average 5 Marla house price in Lahore = 9,000,000 PKR
Average 10 Marla house price in Lahore = 16,000,000 PKR
Average 1 Kanal house price in Lahore = 30,000,000 PKR
Average house price in Lahore = 18,500,000 PKR
Average house price in Islamabad
Average 5 Marla house price in Islamabad = 8,000,000 PKR
10 Marla house price in Islamabad = 15,000,000 PKR
Average 1 Kanal house price in Islamabad = 28,000,000 PKR
Average house price in Islamabad = 17,000,000 PKR
Houses are highly unaffordable in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad
Average salary in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad is 600,000 PAK Rupees per year, whereas average houses price is 23,000,000 PAK Rupees in Karachi, 18,500,000 PAK Rupees in Lahore and 17,000,000 PAK Rupees in Islamabad. So a person needs 38 years of income in Karachi, 31 years of income in Lahore and 28 years of income in Islamabad to buy a house. This house price to income ratio is extremely high in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. World affordable house price to income ratio is 5 or people can buy homes after spending 5 years of income.
This clearly shows that housing is highly unaffordable in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, which makes these least livable cities of Pakistan. There are many reasons of high house prices in these cities like high population density, high inflation rate and low housing construction. Another factor is being the lack of affordable housing in Pakistan. This high house price has resulted in many problems like homelessness and declining living standards. Slum dwellings can be seen in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
Due to high house price in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, home ownership is also declining and people are forced to rent. People in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad are spending more than 50% of their incomes on rents which is very alarming. If these trends continue, next generation would be home renters. This is the right time to initiate affordable housing in all major cities of Pakistan to control the ultra high house prices. Houses can be made affordable by increasing the purchasing power of people by increasing the salaries and also by building affordable houses in bulk quantity. These measure will make Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad livable cities of Pakistan and home ownership will also increase.