Dream Home Expo opens on high note

Islamabad: The three-day Dream Home Expo, the country’s largest real estate exhibition, opened here at 0Pakistan-China Friendship Centre on Friday.

At the event organised by the Jang Media Group, national and international real estate dealers, developers and builders put up stalls offering information and special discounts on their products and services.

Federal Minister for Information Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, who was the chief guest at the opening ceremony, praised the Jang Group for holding the expo and said the group was not only discharging its media-related responsibilities very well but also contributing to the country's socioeconomic development by holding such events.

She said the government considered real estate a major player of the economy and therefore, it had been incentivised during the last five years. The minister said the real estate industry would continue playing its vital role for national development.

She said the PML-N government had restored peace in the country and thus, accelerating the national economic activity to the benefit of common man. The minister said the PML-N would reclaim power after sweeping the upcoming elections on the basis of good governance to carry forward the journey of development.

The stallholders highlighted the nationwide real estate investment opportunities, their issues, and ways to address them. Pledging to provide the people with high-quality yet affordable housing, they believed the event would help them market their initiatives and benefit the people without own house.

Shahchan Zeb of the Red Sun Associates, a real estate developer and consultant, said not only would it help builders and developers effectively convey their message to potential clients and investors but it would bring them closer to each other as well.

He called for the holding of more and more such events to the benefit of all concerned. Shahchan Zeb said the government should encourage and facilitate the real estate developers and builders.

“If private builders and developers get basic facilities, relief in taxes and speedy NOC issuance process, then this industry has the potential to turn around the economy by creating massive revenue and catering to the country’s housing and employment needs,” he said.

Muhammad Asghar of SARMECO Group, a real estate developer and marketer, welcomed the expo saying it will benefit both the industry and common man. He said the housing industry faced lots of problems from red tape to provision of bank loans on tough terms to unavailability of suitable land and therefore, the government should intervene to ensure corrective measures.

The organisers said around 100 real estate dealers, builders and developers had participated in the expo and that they expected a good response from visitors. The visitors, who belonged to all walks of life, welcomed the holding of the expo and said they consulted stallholders on property buying, building and décor, and got really valuable response. They said they would ask family members and friends to make it to the event in the next two days for own benefit.