Despite the tough economic situation in the country, real estate developers and agencies continue to actively promote their housing and commercial schemes. Many believe that real estate remains one of the top choices for investment — not just for big investors, but also for everyday people with some savings.
There are several reasons for this: other sectors like trading or manufacturing carry higher risks, there’s little guidance or information about alternative investment options, real estate agents market their projects aggressively, and many people naturally prefer investing in property because it feels safer and more familiar.
With strong interest in land and property across the country — and even from overseas investors — the trend of investing in real estate is expected to stay steady. However, the market’s overall efficiency is held back by some key issues.
There’s often a sense of uncertainty surrounding the trustworthiness of real estate deals, affecting both buyers and sellers. Complicated paperwork, widespread corruption (especially online), weak legal protections, and limited access to reliable information all create serious barriers. These problems not only slow down the market but also reduce investor confidence.
While the sector is in dire need of comprehensive reform, creating an efficient and scientifically structured real estate information system is the first step in the proposed process of improvement. Let us take the Karachi urban region as an example for a focused review.
In 1990, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation undertook an urban land management study with the assistance of local and Australian consultants. The objectives were to take stock of land utilisation patterns and available land reserves, identify vacant/unutilised land parcels, and identify future land in the hinterland.
The documentation was aimed to scientifically predict the trends of construction and real estate development. The study also recommended the creation of a centralised database with the aim of serving multiple clients. Unfortunately, not much was done afterwards. Donor agencies attempted to streamline this sector through various projects during the 1990s, but not much could be achieved in the end.
Back in 2003, the Sindh Government’s Excise and Taxation Department launched an effort to computerize records of registered properties. The project started off actively but soon lost momentum and wasn’t even able to fully cover properties in officially planned areas. Despite continued encouragement from donors like the World Bank — who saw it as a way to boost property tax revenue — very little progress has been made.
While various land management agencies do maintain their own property records, they are often unwilling to share this data, fearing a loss of control. In some cases, these agencies come under behind-the-scenes pressure, which leads to shady and non-transparent deals.
Meanwhile, across the city, we’ve seen many single-family homes being converted into multi-story buildings without proper planning. Regulatory bodies have failed to manage or respond to this trend effectively. On top of that, influential investors have bought up large tracts of land on the outskirts of Karachi — including in the Gadap area — to develop similar high-rise projects, often outside formal oversight.
It’s widely known that the real estate sector involves many visible and hidden stakeholders — and unfortunately, the current setup benefits some of them. But for good governance to take root, there’s an urgent need to establish a strong legal and administrative framework.
Putting such a system in place would help curb the influence of powerful individuals who manipulate the system and would create a fairer environment, especially for working-class and vulnerable groups. It would also encourage all stakeholders to make more informed and responsible decisions. In time, this could lead to greater transparency in the sector.
The next important step is to collect, verify, and organize land ownership records — a task made difficult by many challenges. These include inconsistent formats and processes, deliberate tampering or hiding of records, poor documentation, and widespread corruption. Despite these issues, the process must begin — and the only way to move forward is by involving all key institutions through consultation, cooperation, and shared commitment.
A critical next step in real estate reform is gathering detailed, development-related information about land. This includes data on planning permissions, land use changes, disputes, violations, fines, legal conversions, and regularisations. In practice, this kind of information can only be collected through well-organized field surveys carried out by trained professionals.
It’s also essential to review and make public the records held by building control authorities and related departments. Many public institutions own or manage large and valuable land holdings, and they should be required to prepare and release verified, transparent records of these properties.
Creating a reliable, user-friendly information system for real estate would empower everyday citizens to make better decisions when buying or selling property. At the same time, it would help increase property tax collection — generating much-needed funds that could go toward fixing the city’s aging infrastructure.