Dhaka sees skyline reach new heights
Bangladesh’s capital city is seeing significant development, as the populous looks to the developed world for economic inspiration. Goldman Sachs placing Bangladesh in the “next 11’” category after the Bric countries and its “Mint” (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) group as an emerging economy. Despite the cities dense population, new property is being built on the land previously occupied by 1980s-era family houses, long considered obsolete.
Experts have shown that if you’d purchased property in the city as little as 15 years ago, you’d see those purchase prices increase between 5 or 6 times. This strong growth is enabling better living condition and standards, as the city adopts architecture seen in more developed capitals from around the world.
Not long ago North Dhaka was bordered by rice paddy fields. In 1971 when the country gained independence it was home to 1 million people. Today it homes as many as 15 million. As the rural population looks to achieve a better living, this area sees a further 500,000 inhabitants arrive every year (5 percent per annum over the last 4 decades).
Property where one family would have lived 10 years ago, you now tend to find 40. The city’s population outgrew the existing infrastructure many years ago. As the city tries to handle the demand of this new populous, it’s property with large grounds that is being flattened in preparation for further high-rise living.
As a new generation of buildings begin springing up that reflect changing tastes and styles of the cities wealthy, Dhaka seems a good target for investors. The limited space continues to drive prices up, along with the rental market. This demand should give the market stability to grow, helping investor confidence.
