Mirpur, Uttara emerging as lucrative real estate locations

Real-estate buyers are now showing increased interest in the city's Mirpur and Uttara areas as key communication infrastructures such as Dhaka metro rail and rapid bus corridor are set to enhance the region's connectivity and business opportunities.

According to online property search and sales data, commercial spaces, plots and ready flats are getting significant attention from the buyers due to the prospects the areas would offer when the infrastructures will become fully operational, insiders have said.

The Dhaka metro rail connecting the areas has already begun partial operations while other projects including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and elevated expressway will open soon to ensure faster communications.

The increased interest is also reflected in a survey of Bproperty.com, an online marketplace for real estate.

According to it, of the total potential customers looking for second-hand flats in Dhaka, nearly 25 per cent looked for the flats in Mirpur area in the first three months of this calendar year.

More than 10 per cent of people looked for Uttara and 7.76 per cent looked for the Bashundhara Residential area, followed by Dhanmondi and Mohammadpur during the January-March period of 2023.

People searched for flats of 1,500 square feet on average in Uttara and 1,254 square feet in the Mirpur area.

Of the total transactions done for the properties through the matchmaking platform, 23.53 per cent were paid for property purchases in Mirpur and 17.65 per cent in Uttara.

Khan Tanjeel Ahmed, General Manager of Product & Growth at the Bproperty, said many buyers look for second-hand apartments as prices of brand new properties have already been hiked due to the increased costs of raw materials.

"These properties are wider in variety, readily available to move into, their lower costs leave budgets open to better and bigger properties," he said, adding that any savings in the budget can be used to renovate and personalise the purchased spaces.

Talking to the FE, Co-Chairman of Rupayan Group Mahir Ali Khan Ratul said commercial spaces, shops and land in Uttara and Mirpur are getting more attention as new business opportunities are being created there.

Besides, the demand for ready apartments is increasing as people consider this an investment while some want to avoid the probable price increase in future, he added.

"People are also showing more interest in quality residences like condominiums or gated communities that offer modern-day facilities in different sectors of Uttara," he said.

He, however, said it is still too early to conclude with the impact of metro rail that now runs for limited duration and distance.

Regarding a query on price, he said it is not possible to generalise the pricing as there are different factors responsible for this.

"One thing is obvious that the price is on the rise in these areas," he said.

Rupayan Group is implementing a huge gated community project in Uttara spreading on 134 bighas of land near the metro rail depot.

Highlighting the prospect of the northern neighbourhood in Dhaka, Mr Ratul said the communication infrastructures will play a vital role in future to further popularise the regions among the city dwellers. However, the transport will have to be affordable for them.

Contacted, Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) Vice-President Kamal Mahmud said people mostly look for flats as per their affordability and locations of their choice.

Considering the overall situation, buyers have paid special attention to Mirpur and Uttara, he said, adding that yet there are many things to make them more attractive so that the pressure from other parts of Dhaka reduces.

"RAJUK hasn't done enough to popularise Uttara's latest phase since it lacks different facilities like utility, security and education," he said.

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