By Ayesha Saba ISLAMABAD, Nov 05 (INP-WealthPK): The influx in migration of people from rural areas to the urban centres in search of better employment and living conditions has led to an increase in the demand for both commercial and residential housing units. Resultantly, the housing crisis has become a major challenge in Pakistan in recent years due to the ever-increasing population. According to zameen.com, Pakistan is facing a backlog of around 10.3 million housing units in both urban and rural areas. The housing shortage figure is expected to go further up to 17.4 million by 2025. Like all other sectors of economy, the real estate sector has also suffered immensely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, causing large-scale unemployment, as a number of establishments dealing with property-related matters got closed. Notwithstanding these challenges, the real estate sector has been one of the most attractive businesses in Pakistan. It is considered the largest segment and foundational pillar of a country’s economic development, and Pakistan is no exception. In Pakistan’s context, approximately 70pc of the country’s total wealth belongs to real estate sector, which is also the second largest employment generator after agriculture. A boom in the real estate sector leads to a boom in the construction sector, architectural development, urban planning, house financing, etc. With little risks attached to investment and guarantees of high-profit margins the sector automatically attracts a lot of investments. That’s the reason why most Pakistani investors prefer to invest in the real estate sector. The depreciation in the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar has also proved to be a blessing in disguise for the overseas Pakistanis, who have heavily invested their money in the real estate sector. The impact of CPEC on Pakistani real estate market is going to be immense, as the multi-billion-dollar project is perceived as the forerunner of transformational change in the country’s economic profile. It will link Pakistan’s Gwadar deep seaport with China’s Kashgar in western Xinjiang with land route that will also serve as a trade route for many neighbouring countries. With the construction of roads and highways under CPEC, demand for construction of facilities like restaurants, hotels, is also increasing at tourist places, especially in northern areas of Pakistan. An efficient real estate market is one that encourages quick development and transaction, provides easy access to all income groups, and ensures environmental-friendly ventures. A thriving real estate market is the one which primarily focuses on provision of best infrastructure and services to clients, ensures transactions are done in accordance with the rules and regulations and tax evasion is strictly prohibited. The incumbent government has come up with a policy to provide ease of doing business to the investors and guarantee that the hard-earned money of the buyers does not go to waste. Some measures have been taken with the sole purpose of giving impetus to the sector and generating economic activity and resultant employment. Another feature of the policy is that there would be fixed tax depending on the size of the property. It is to ensure that there is no tax evasion and no harassment of the investors by the tax collectors. Digitisation of land record is another prominent feature of the policy to minimise the risk of fraud and corruption in sale and purchase of plots. The policy’s major thrust is to infuse an institutional approach in the real estate sector to tap its full potential for sustained economic growth.