Real Estate Strategies Don’t Align with Pakistani Market: Need Advice

[Ayan Amin]

Hi BiggerPockets community,

I’m an 18-year-old just starting my journey into real estate and wealth building, and I’ve been following the strategies laid out in books like The Book on Rental Property Investing. However, I’ve found that these strategies don’t seem to align with the current real estate market in my country, Pakistan, particularly in Karachi.

Here’s an example:

A typical 120-square-yard house with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms costs around 106,000k ($270-$300 Rent per month). With such low rental yields, the return on investment (ROI) and cash-on-cash (CoC) return are negative when factoring in mortgage payments only, not including any other factors.

In this market, it seems almost impossible to make a profit using traditional rental property investing strategies. I’m trying to figure out if investing in the Pakistani market is even a good idea or if there are other ways to build wealth given these conditions.

I’d appreciate advice on:

1. Alternative strategies: Are there techniques or approaches better suited to markets like this where rents are so low relative to property prices?

2. Investing outside of real estate: What other investment opportunities (stocks, REITs, or businesses) might make more sense in such a market?

3. Starting young: As someone just starting out at 18, what would be the best way to build a foundation for wealth?

I’m eager to learn and would be grateful for any suggestions or experiences you can share, especially if you’ve dealt with challenging markets like this one. Thank you!