🇵🇰

Pakistan

Karachi / Lahore · PKR

Corpus dated July 2026

For landowners

Your strongest cards in Pakistan are clean documentation and a DHA/society address. Insist on staged handover of development rights — never a blanket power of attorney on day one.

For developers

NOC sequencing is the critical path; underwrite moratoria risk in Karachi. Diaspora (RDA) demand is the depth of the off-plan market.

Build cost (USD/m²)

$250–500

Sale prices (USD/m²) · Mid-market

$450–1,000

Sale prices (USD/m²) · Prime

$1,000–2,200

Typical owner share

25–40%

of built area or revenue

Title system: Deeds registration + provincial land records (Punjab computerised; Sindh partial); parallel DHA/cooperative-society allotment regimes; no title guarantee.
Foreign ownership: Foreigners generally need government permission (rarely used); overseas Pakistanis/POC holders buy freely; foreign developers via local SPV/JV, SIFC-facilitated.
Authorities: Provincial Boards of Revenue + SBCA (Karachi), LDA (Lahore), CDA/RDA (Islamabad/Rawalpindi).
Zoning metric: FAR per bylaws — Karachi up to ~1:6+ commercial; Lahore FAR ~1:2.5–1:10 by road width; paid 'commercialisation' conversions common.
Height control: CAA aviation NOCs + SBCA/LDA caps; recurring court-driven Karachi high-rise moratoria; 40+ floor towers emerging.
Building code: Building Code of Pakistan (BCP-2021 seismic) + KBTPR 2002 / LDA bylaws; enforcement uneven.
Approvals & timeline: NOC-heavy: land-use conversion, SBCA/LDA plan approval, CAA + environmental NOCs; unpredictable in practice. (~6–18 months)
Transfer taxes & fees: FY27 budget cuts filer rates to ~0.25% buyer / ~1.5% seller; stamp ~1–3% + CVT; regime changes annually — verify at deal time.
Foreign capital: Roshan Digital Account incentives for diaspora; SBP approval for repatriation; SIFC courting GCC investors; high FX risk.

Common JV structures

Joint Development Agreement — Area Share

30–50%

Owner grants development rights (JDA + limited power of attorney) but keeps title until handover. Developer builds entirely at own cost; the finished built-up area is split by an agreed ratio and each party sells or keeps its own units.

Joint Development Agreement — Revenue Share

20–40%

Same grant of development rights, but the owner takes a percentage of gross sales revenue instead of units. Developer controls pricing and sales; escrow and audit rights are standard protections.

Land-as-Equity SPV

20–50%

Owner conveys land into a new project company at an agreed value; that value becomes the owner's equity stake. Developer and investors contribute cash and expertise; profits distribute through a waterfall (capital back → preferred return → promote).

BOT / DBFOT Concession

2–15%

Mostly for public or institutional land: the developer designs, builds, finances and operates for 20–50 years, paying an upfront premium and/or revenue share, then transfers the asset back.

Risk flags

⚠ PKR volatility + annual tax whiplash
⚠ Title/encroachment (qabza) risk
⚠ Court-driven construction bans

Model in USD; PKR moves dominate returns.