Bahria Town Karachi Defers 35% Development Charges
After creating a lot of mess in the real estate markets of Pakistan, and disappointing a lot of loyal investors, Bahria Town Karachi has finally decided to review its policy of forcefully imposing 35% development charges.
A few weeks back, after holding a meeting with Jamat-e-Islami, Bahria Town also withdrew its policy of forcing people to apply for possessions. Maintenance charges, however, would be applied on all developed properties on per month basis.
These additional development charges were being imposed on the first bookings of plots, apartments and homes that were done in February 2014. Virtually all sections of the real estate market rejected this policy outright and protested against this extortion.
The news of deferment of 35% development charges was announced through official twitter account of Mr. Malik Riaz, but it has not yet helped build confidence in the real estate market.
As you can see on the tweet above, the 35% service development charges have been “deferred”, not cancelled. It means that Bahria Town can impose these charges any time in future.
A new buyer will be reluctant to pay more for a property today because he knows he will have to pay additional charges in future, so his cost will go much higher. Therefore, prices cannot improve until Bahria Town comes out squarely with its policies and intentions.
