Mr. Om Rajbhandary, Third Vice President of Nepal Land & Housing Developers Association (NLHDA) and CEO of The Comfort Housing Pvt. Ltd. gave his presentation in SCAEF Program on behalf of NLHDA on the topic, "Housing Scenario of Nepal."  (16 September, 2009)

Background & History Possession of shelter is a basic human need not only for the protection against natural elements and hostile weather, but also for the maintenance of accepted standard of family and society. With the evolution of mankind, organized living and civilization sense evolved. The Nepalese Community also was not far behind from this concept and urbanization was in progress in the Kathmandu valley. During the pre-1950s, the period of the Malla kings, urbanization was in its epitome. The urban planning of those days incorporated all of the necessary amenities into consideration. With planned cohesive community living, and a strong sense of logethemess, which was depicted in its. : Courtyard designs for common houses Temples and baha-bahis in the proximity Well planned dhungedharas Sattal and patis for rest and recreation Dabalis as open air ampitheaters Urban Explosion With the favourable Climate condition, common community and available resources, urbanization was rapid in Kathmandu. This resulted in increased population and density and thus less availability of land.

The increasing concentration of population in urban areas created new problems. Problems arose mainly due to internal migration and rapid urbanization. National urban population is 12%, yet the valley's share of urban population is 54.5. A survey conducted by the Central Department of population. TU found 39.65% of the population. Post 1950s era experienced urban expansion, with the opening up of highways linking it to other parts of the country, air services increased development activities. It accelerated after 1970s. Migration from outside the valley grew consequently, its dominance increased while the importance of other towns outside the valley declined.

Today, the valley is undergoing an urban explosion rather than managed urban growth. Urban areas are expanding at the rate of 6.67% annually at present. Why housing ? A statistical report of World Bank stated 23% of urban population is poor & live irregular and substandard housing with inadequate infrastructure and services. It is stated in the Directive Principles and the policies of the State in the constitution of Nepal: "The State shall pursue a policy of raising the standards of living of the general public through the development of infrastructures as education, health, housing and employment of the people" Housing has been identified as a national problem. There is a need to find solutions towards alleviating the problem. Recent trends in the Housing sector Housing companies generally erect Apartments within Ringroad while stand-alone houses that require wider space are built outside Ringroad. Increasing number of customers buy apartments as an investment rather than for self-consumption. Many buyers have been renting out apartments To ensure growth in the housing business, developers need to encourage buyers to live in the apartments. There is a substantial increment in the number of Companies and projects over the period of ten years. The number of Companies involved in this sector, within the valley currently stands at about 150, according to the membership roaster of Nepal land & Housing Developers Association. The no. of Companies registered as Housing Developers is about 40-50. Out of them, 8-10 companies are embarking on new projects after completing their previous ones, while some have launched their maiden projects and others are either on the pre-sales or sales of their maiden projects. Land & Housing Development Act Issuances covering a wide range as Ownership rights Rights of Customers Operational management Buyer's Duties Developers Liabilities etc Are mentioned and governed by Apartment Act 2059 (2003) and By-laws 2060 (2004) Registered Projects (After 2004) According to this list, there are a total of 60stand-along housing units, registered after the year 2004. Three of my projects are not covered in this list, Sitapaila I, Budhanilkantha and Dharan. So, this number may increase in units. There are a total of 1697 apartment units registered according to this data. Obviously, there are more units in the market which either are not registered or are in the process of registration, because today we have 1000 units being launched by a single project as shown in the media.

Role of consultants Role of Urban Planners and Architects:
They can contribute well with their apt, skills and knowledge of the prevalent technology and workmanship, enhancing further with the updated adaptation with the changing technologies, material and workmanship. It, indeed is a platform for Engineering Professionals and Architects, creating Employment opportunities as well. Revenue & benefits for government .With the increased number of housing industries, the result or outcome was: well developed lands with all infrastructures as well as organized, developed houses. So, with every phase, From Registration and other local tax from approval authorities, Taxation from local industry and abroad on material procurement Government has an opportunity to receive revenue. Hence, a win-win situation for all REAL ESTATE PRODUCTS "SWOT" ANALYSIS IN PRESENT MARKET SCENARIO Strength/Opportunity Location Priority Easy Accessibility Cost Compared to horizontal living/Stand Alone Houses, with all infrastructure and amenities is economic Like "Ready to eat" noodles, instant readymade units cater to those groups who have less time today. Booming apartments Weakness/Threat Compared to the demand, currently the supply is more. Consequently, the quality can be degraded. Users may be cheated, with "Terms & conditions Apply" clause Commitments may defer as well as lack of transparency in system. Technically, we do not have the experience of building high-risers. So, Government should ensure that the compliances are met & before every casting, there should be checking. Government Norms & By-laws should be authoritative and strict. Today, as there are more investors than consumers, operational problems may be higher. Ratio of users and investors. During the early phase of Housing, people had a tendency to buy the houses or Apartments for their own use. The ratio of users and investors has changed drastically in today's scenario. Today, people are buying Apartments as an asset which they can sell, once the price flares up. In our experience, today, there are about 70% Investors for the housing products.

 Future
1. Attraction of FDI The government Policy should be such that it can attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). For this, Ownership of Apartments should be made available to International citizens as well. Eg. Thailand, where Apartment ownership is given to foreign citizens as well. Even in Malaysia, with "Make Malaysia your Second Home" slogan, they have taken in substantial FDI.

2. Real-Estate marketing agent : Our approach is to establish Authentic Re-Marketing Agent Professionals in Nepal.We are looking forward to pave paths for creating future RE-Marketing Agent professionals. M/S Brihat Investments is about to Lunch first ever Real-Estate Marketing Agents Course, to stop Further irregularities in secondary Transactions and create Ethical Professionals.

3. Our Approach-Master Developer Concept As we have observed, till date, of the various products of the Real Estate Sector, only horizontal and vertical community living concepts have been coming up.  As per the needs of the society, I believe that other facets of real Estate like Senior living, Serviced Apartments Etc. should be introduced in our country too.

Before concluding, I would like to stress on the "Master Developer Concept", wherein we could migrate a substantial population from the city unto a "Satellite Town" with all the necessary amenities & infrastructures. By doing this, we can commune together experts from the various fields with a variety of projects like housing, apartments, schools, hospitals, commercial complexes, entertainment facilities etc. & the involvement of different developers & consultants would ensure that there is no unhealthy competition between them.

Mr. Om Rajbhandary, Chairman/CEO, The Comfort Housing Pvt. Ltd.