Naya Nazimabad flooding may send property value plunging
Aisha Arshad lives in North Nazimabad and last year she bought a house on the Super Highway. She recently visited Naya Nazimabad before the rains and told her husband that she wouldn’t have bought a house on the Super Highway if she had seen Naya Nazimabad earlier.
“Needless to say, my opinion has changed,” she said.
Naya Nazimabad enticed many families by giving them impression of a posh area while offering plots and houses at reasonable rates, which increased with the passage of time.
But the recent rains and subsequent flooding of Naya Nazimabad have tarnished its charm.
“The whole Naya Nazimabad project will be affected after what people have seen after the rains,” said Kamran Sheikh, who runs a real estate agency in Nazimabad.
“Property worth Rs12 million before the flooding will now be difficult to sell at Rs10 million. I think its worth will now settle at around Rs9.5 million.”
Shaikh is not the only one who believes Naya Nazimabad’s property value will drop. Another property agent, Shah Mohammad Shah believes the property value in Naya Nazimabad will sink somewhere around 25% to 30%.
Related: Why did Naya Nazimabad sink?
“But people will still be interested in the property. The rains were record breaking so people might still think that it may not happen again. So, one just can’t wipe off Naya Nazimabad from the buyer’s radar,” Shah said.
Naya Nazimabad Executive Director Muhammad Ejaz thinks otherwise. He said that a single incident can’t tarnish the image of a society that is “second to none” in the country. He also brushed aside the concern that the foundations of the housing units might have been affected due to the water accumulation.
Despite his confidence, most people believe property rates will not remain the same in Naya Nazimabad after the recent flooding. Another property agent, Mohammad Ateeq, said that the flooding the whole of Pakistan saw in Naya Nazimabad will have mixed results on property value in the society.
“Block A was higher than other blocks. Near it is Block B, which also got slightly affected. Block C was completely submerged while Block D was also partially affected,” Ateeq explained. He also owns some plots in the society.
“People living in the areas that got affected by the flooding are now looking to buy houses in other part of the society that are higher above the affected areas,” he said. “They may leave their present houses but would not want to leave the society as it has wide roads and is an attractive place to live in compared to other parts of the city in comparable prices,” he added.
Ejaz said they would reach out to everyone possible to solve the society’s problems, when asked if they would go to the Sindh government to remove encroachments outside society, which they claim was the main reason for the flooding.
He added that the climate has been changing and more downpours can be expected every year so they are going to be better prepared next year. He said they will be doing their best so that it doesn’t happen again.
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