REHAB fair ends: Flats, plots over Tk351cr sold in five days

Staff Reporter :
In spite of the ongoing economic crisis, the flats, plots and commercial spaces worth over Tk 351.16 crore were sold and booked in the 22nd edition of the REHAB Fair, which concluded on Sunday.
Of the amount, Tk 168 crore came from the sales and booking of flats, Tk 80 crore from plots and Tk 53.73 crore from commercial spaces, according to the officials of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB).
They shared the information in a press conference held on the venue of the five-day fair at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital
A total of 16,132 people visited the fair this year, they said.
Participated banks and non-bank financial institutions committed to lending about Tk 1,000 crore to the clients of flats, plots and commercial spaces at the exposition, the organizers added.
However, the selling, booking and the number presence of the visitors were comparatively lower than the previous year as the companies which took part in the last fair received orders worth Tk 397.38 crore from the booking of flats, plots and commercial spaces.
The realtors had received orders worth Tk 198 crore for sales and booking of flats, Tk 125 crore for plots and Tk 74.38 crore for commercial spaces in that fair. A total of 19,237 visitors visited the fair in the five days.
The organizers also said that the companies, which have land projects and took part in the fair, received good response as many of the visitors booked for their desired plots.
In a written speech, REHAB Vice-President Sohel Rana, said, “The objective with which it was organized has been successful. Company’s branding was the main goal and we achieved it.”
“All the visitors, who came to the fair, are actually buyers. The participated companies presented the quality of their products to the visitors. The housing firms will nurture them and the buyers will scrutinize their products and will take decision latter,” Rana said.
Many also alleged that the prices of the flats and plots are out of the reach of the middle-class in the main city area as the prices of lands are on an upward trend.
The unusual price hike of the building materials is also responsible for the higher cost of the apartments, the organizers said.  
So proper urban policy and the right public infrastructure are necessary to build lower cost housing, they said.
 “The land price in the central areas of big cities is so high. If the government builds proper infrastructure like highways and a good public transport system, developers will start to build lower cost housing projects in the suburban areas,” Rana said.
“If the price of building materials continues to rise uncontrollably, the flats will also get costlier in the future,” he added.