Speakers at a seminar yesterday stressed the need for further investment in the real estate sector as the developers could supply only half the demand in the urban areas.
“It’s the peak time for investing in the sector,” the seminar was told.
Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) organised the seminar titled “Secure and Prospective Investment: Real Estate Industry of Bangladesh” in Dhaka.
The experts said there is huge scope of business in the sector as demand of urban housing is rising rapidly.
At present, annual demand for housing in urban areas is around 30,000 units and within the next 5 years it is expected to cross 60,000 units.
On the other hand, the private real estate developers are currently building barley 17,000 to 18,000 units annually. “So, currently the realtors can provide maximum 50% of the total demand.”
Different statistics show some 4 million houses would be built to meet the housing demands in next 20 years, said a press release.
The experts referred to the US and Dubai real estate market and said those markets boomed again following the economic recession that hit globally.
They also termed the real estate business as the safest mode of investment as the investment offers physical position of the assets.
The speakers further said private real estate developers are contributing around 12% to the country’s total GDP. Proper policy and financing support from the government could help the real estate developers to double their contribution to GDP.
More than 200 backward linkage industries related to the real estate sector are surviving as almost 70% of their products are being consumed by real estate developers.
Commercial banks’ total investment counts some Tk50,000 crore in real estate relevant industries like steel mills, cement, sanitary, tiles and so on.
Chaired by REHAB Acting President Mukarram Hussain Khan, Prime Minister’s Adviser Dr. Mashiur Rahman, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury and FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed took part in the discussion, among others.