Building a House
5 marla house construction cost (2026): grey structure and finished, by city
5 marla house construction cost in 2026: Rs 58.26 lakh grey and Rs 95.44 lakh finished in Lahore (Zameen, 16 Oct), plus material quantities by city.
Building a House · Property
10 marla house construction cost in 2026: Rs 97 lakh grey and Rs 1.54 crore finished in Lahore (Zameen, 16 Oct). Basement cost and materials by city.
AI Summary
Zameen's calculator, updated 16 October 2026, puts a 10 marla double storey in Lahore at Rs 97 lakh for grey structure and Rs 1.54 crore finished, for about 3,375 sq ft. The builder Avenir estimates Rs 98 lakh to Rs 1.11 crore grey, and prices a basement separately at Rs 4,300 a sq ft in Lahore. Our calculator gives Rs 48.8 to 67.3 lakh of the main materials in Lahore at PBS September 2026 prices. On a 35 ft wide LDA plot, two floors come to about 2,820 sq ft.
A 10 marla house construction cost in Lahore is about Rs 97 lakh for grey structure and Rs 1.54 crore finished, on Zameen’s calculator, updated 16 October 2026. That is for a double storey of about 3,375 sq ft, at Rs 2,874 and Rs 4,550 a sq ft. The builder Avenir Developments estimates Rs 98 lakh to Rs 1.11 crore for grey structure in Lahore, without a basement.
A basement is extra: Avenir prices it at Rs 4,300 a sq ft in Lahore. Below are the city figures, what is inside them, the main materials at official September 2026 prices, and how much LDA’s rules let you build.
| City (10 marla, double storey) | Grey structure | Per sq ft | Finished | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahore | Rs 97 lakh | Rs 2,874 | Rs 1.54 crore | Rs 4,550 |
| Karachi | Rs 98.58 lakh | Rs 2,921 | Rs 1.56 crore | Rs 4,615 |
| Islamabad | Rs 93.21 lakh | Rs 2,762 | Rs 1.5 crore | Rs 4,443 |
Source: Zameen.com construction cost calculator, “with material”, prices last updated 16 October 2026. Its 10 marla house has 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and 2 kitchens.
Avenir’s standard grey structure rates are higher: Rs 3,300 a sq ft in Lahore, Rs 3,500 in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and DHA Lahore, and Rs 3,710 in DHA Islamabad. Its Lahore range for 10 marla is 1% to 14% above Zameen’s figure (our calculation).
Zameen splits its Lahore grey structure figure of Rs 97 lakh like this:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bricks, cement, sand and crush | Rs 57.56 lakh |
| Excavation and steel reinforcement | Rs 13.45 lakh |
| Roof insulation, termite proofing and waterproofing | Rs 99,850 |
| Labour for the structure | Rs 13.67 lakh |
| Plumbing (pipes, pumps and drains, labour) | Rs 9.08 lakh |
| Electrical conduits, switch boxes and labour | Rs 2.24 lakh |
Labour is Rs 16.23 lakh of the total, about 17%. Finishing adds about Rs 57 lakh: tiles are Rs 20.58 lakh of it, paint and ceilings Rs 9.32 lakh, wires and cables Rs 5.96 lakh, wardrobes and cabinets Rs 5.18 lakh, and bathroom fittings Rs 4.72 lakh.
Avenir prices a standard basement separately: Rs 4,300 a sq ft in Lahore and Rs 4,500 in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. That is more than its rate for floors above ground. Avenir lists the extra work a basement needs: retaining walls, waterproofing, support for the excavation, and pumping out groundwater where needed.
For a DHA Lahore 10 marla plot (35 x 65 ft), Avenir says a single basement can add up to about 1,185 sq ft, less the porch. At its Lahore rate, that is about Rs 51 lakh (our calculation). Each 1,000 sq ft of basement costs about Rs 43 lakh in Lahore and Rs 45 lakh in Islamabad.
Under LDA’s rules, a basement counts towards the floor area limit (FAR 1:2.8 on 10 marla, or 6,300 sq ft in all), each basement room needs at least 8 ft of height, the basement must leave the same open spaces as the ground floor, and its foundations must not go under the neighbouring plots. DHA asks for a Rs 100,000 refundable security if you dig with an excavator, according to Avenir.
Our construction material calculator uses published rules of thumb per sq ft. For a 3,300 sq ft double storey with load-bearing brick walls:
| Material | Quantity (estimate) | Zameen’s 2020 breakdown, same area |
|---|---|---|
| Cement | 792 to 1,023 bags | 800 bags |
| Steel (sarya) | 4.6 to 6.3 tonnes | 5,000 kg, Grade 60 |
| Bricks | 75,900 to 99,000 | 90,000 |
| Sand | 3,960 to 8,250 cft | 8,200 cft |
| Crush (bajri) | 1,880 to 2,870 cft | 2,600 cft |
These are estimates from rules of thumb, not an engineer’s bill of quantities. With a full RCC frame (concrete columns and beams), the same house takes about 1,254 to 1,452 bags and 9.2 to 11.9 tonnes of steel.
The same quantities at each city’s PBS (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics) prices for September 2026. Cement, steel, bricks, sand and crush only: labour, plumbing, wiring, excavation and finishing are extra.
| City | Load-bearing brick walls | Full RCC frame |
|---|---|---|
| Lahore | Rs 48.8 to 67.3 lakh | Rs 64.4 to 82.7 lakh |
| Karachi | Rs 44.5 to 61.4 lakh | Rs 59.8 to 76.1 lakh |
| Islamabad | Rs 52.3 to 73.6 lakh | Rs 67.6 to 88.0 lakh |
| Rawalpindi | Rs 51.8 to 72.9 lakh | Rs 67.1 to 87.2 lakh |
| Faisalabad | Rs 45.4 to 62.3 lakh | Rs 61.3 to 78.1 lakh |
| Multan | Rs 41.4 to 57.3 lakh | Rs 58.0 to 74.2 lakh |
| Gujranwala | Rs 50.7 to 69.8 lakh | Rs 65.7 to 83.9 lakh |
| Peshawar | Rs 45.7 to 63.6 lakh | Rs 61.2 to 78.5 lakh |
| Quetta | Rs 39.4 to 54.1 lakh | Rs 56.3 to 71.2 lakh |
| Hyderabad | Rs 37.1 to 49.9 lakh | Rs 53.3 to 66.2 lakh |
3,300 sq ft covered, our calculator, PBS prices for September 2026. Steel is priced at PBS’s Grade 40 rate; the published take-offs behind these rules assume Grade 60, which costs more, so the steel cost is on the low side.
Zameen’s own Lahore figure for these materials plus excavation, Rs 71.01 lakh, is above our load-bearing range. Its house is a little bigger (3,375 sq ft), and its line includes excavation.
In LDA-approved schemes, a 10 marla house may cover 70% of the plot and rise 4 storeys and 45 ft. It must also leave 10 ft at the front, 7 ft at the rear and 5 ft on one side. On a 35 x 64 ft plot those spaces leave about 1,410 sq ft a floor, less than the 70% limit, so two floors come to about 2,820 sq ft.
At Zameen’s Lahore rates, those two floors plus a 100 sq ft mumty (the stair room on the roof) come to about Rs 83.9 lakh grey and Rs 1.33 crore finished (our calculation). DHA Lahore builds smaller: Avenir’s DHA example has 2,332 sq ft above ground. See covered area and setbacks in Lahore for the full rules.
LDA has changed its rules since the January 2020 copy we used. In April 2025, Pakistan Observer reported amendments that require greywater tanks on plots over 10 marla and stop LDA approving apartment maps on 10 marla and 1 kanal plots. Check the current rules before your drawings go in.
For a smaller plot, see 5 marla house construction cost. For all sizes, see house construction cost in Pakistan.
More guides: construction material prices, building a house to rent out, home loans in Pakistan, marla to square feet.
Zameen's calculator, updated 16 Oct 2026, gives Rs 97 lakh for grey structure and Rs 1.54 crore finished, for a double storey of about 3,375 sq ft. The builder Avenir estimates Rs 98 lakh to Rs 1.11 crore for grey structure.
Avenir prices a standard basement at Rs 4,300 a sq ft in Lahore and Rs 4,500 in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. A 1,185 sq ft basement, the most Avenir says a DHA Lahore 10 marla plot can take, comes to about Rs 51 lakh at the Lahore rate (our calculation).
Rs 2,874 in Lahore, Rs 2,921 in Karachi and Rs 2,762 in Islamabad on Zameen's calculator (16 Oct 2026). Avenir's standard rate is higher: Rs 3,300 in Lahore and Rs 3,500 in Islamabad.
About 75,900 to 99,000 for a 3,300 sq ft double storey with load-bearing walls, on our calculator. Zameen's 2020 breakdown for the same area lists 90,000 bricks.
Photo: Sohail Aziz / CC BY 3.0
Ask us. We read every question and reply by email when you leave one.