Observer replied on Wednesday, November 21, 2012 12:08 PM
(You asked for insights, right? Without being too specific here are few insights which might give you & others in the same boat, some hint to decide.)
Recent as well as distant history tells us that over the medium to long run growth in Pakistani property has always significantly outperformed realized or unrealized gains from keeping your capital in Forex vs PKR, with very few and very short term exceptions like in the year ~2008. Historically due to inflation it has always proven worst strategy by far to keep your hard earned savings in Cash or Cash derivatives based on any Forex paired with PKR. There is a lot of potential & resilience in Pakistani Black & White economy, and Pakistani real estate is still extremely under priced.
More people and more money will always be divided by the same quantity of land. That means more people per constant piece of land and/or more money per constant piece of land. The land wins because YOU CANNOT GROW LAND ON TREES (CAPS here for emphasis, not for scream). You can print more money and you can dig more gold, produce more barrels of oil or seek alternative energy sources, can add more exciting IPOs, derivatives; BUT the supply of land is limited with ever growing demand for both domiciliary, agricultural needs and more.
That said it is best to utilize your savings and available funds (after keeping aside some necessary funds for emergent needs) to setup a small industry/orchard, or do some other useful business related to your skills/expertise where you are quite confident of success & least dependent on other breathing creatures (zi roohs, including people). Some dependence on machines is fine though. If you are unable to do that very few choices are left. Property in Pakistan (and other countries where the most significant contribution of the nation in the real GDP is the production of babies) has always been and will likely always be more yielding and more profitable than most other investment instruments available, just based on dwindling supply and rising demand.
BTW: In property investment always keep a significant portion in choices which can be very liquid, so that whenever you feel a need for cash you can liquidate without too much effort, within days, and not weeks or months. Wherever and whenever possible, always prepare, prefer and prioritize to utilize your funds for something productive. Do not play the Zero Sum games. Do something useful for yourself (first) and for others too by creating Win Win situations.
Food for thought: The water which is flowing is fresh and sweet. It nurtures life and prosperity. The water which stops or gets blocked starts to smell and creates diseases (both physical and spiritual).
Better keep the wealth flowing. |
