House construction cost in Pakistan (2026): per sq ft, grey structure and finishing, by city

House construction cost in Pakistan in 2026 is about Rs 2,762 to Rs 3,500 a square foot for grey structure, from two named estimates, and Rs 4,384 to Rs 4,786 for a finished house on Zameen’s calculator. No official figure exists. Zameen’s calculator, updated 16 October 2026, gives Rs 2,762 to Rs 3,032 for grey structure in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. The builder Avenir quotes Rs 3,300 in Lahore and Rs 3,500 in Islamabad for a standard specification.

Neither figure is a quote for your house. Below we show what each estimate assumes, what drives the gap, and the official material prices (from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, PBS) you can check a contractor’s quote against.

House construction cost per square foot in 2026

Source: Zameen.com construction cost calculator, “with material”, double storey, prices last updated 16 October 2026. Per square foot of covered area.

Avenir Developments, a construction firm, publishes its own rates. For standard grey structure in the last quarter of 2026 it charges Rs 3,300 a sq ft in Lahore and Rs 3,500 in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with DHA Lahore at Rs 3,500 and DHA Islamabad at Rs 3,710. Its Q3 2026 benchmark for a standard finished house is Rs 4,400 to Rs 6,500 a sq ft.

Avenir’s Lahore grey rate is about 15% above Zameen’s 10 marla figure (our calculation). We couldn’t get usable Zameen figures for other cities: the pages we tried for Rawalpindi, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta showed identical fallback numbers with no labour cost, so we left them out.

What does a 5 marla, 10 marla or 1 kanal house cost to build?

Karachi comes out slightly higher (10 marla grey Rs 98.58 lakh, finished Rs 1.56 crore) and Islamabad slightly lower (Rs 93.21 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore). Avenir’s own grey structure estimate for a 10 marla house in Lahore, without basement, is Rs 98 lakh to Rs 1.11 crore.

Your covered area may differ from Zameen’s default. Under LDA’s 2019 building regulations (as amended to January 2020), in LDA-approved schemes a house on a 5 to under 10 marla plot may cover up to 75% of the plot and rise 3 storeys; from 10 marla to under 1 kanal, 70% and 4 storeys. Convert your plot first with the marla to square feet converter, because a marla isn’t the same size everywhere.

What does grey structure include?

Zameen describes grey structure as the materials for “foundation, floors, walls, roofing, and plastering”. Avenir’s list is longer:

• excavation, foundations, termite proofing and the damp proof course
• brick masonry and RCC (reinforced concrete) columns, beams and slabs
• cement plaster
• underground sewerage, water and gas pipes, and electrical conduits laid in the structure

Finishing covers the rest: flooring and tiles, paint, wiring, switches and fittings, bathroom fittings, the kitchen, and windows. Avenir also leaves out the boundary wall, design fees, approval charges and utility connections. Even these two lists differ, and Avenir notes it often leaves out ceiling plaster where a false ceiling is planned. Ask any contractor for the list in writing before you compare prices.

Why do construction quotes differ so much?

The same house can be quoted Rs 2,800 or Rs 3,500 a square foot. These are the reasons the two estimates give:

• Specification. Steel grade, the source of sand and crush, the type of damp proof course and door frames all change the rate, Avenir says. Its Lahore range runs from Rs 3,000 (“Essential”) to Rs 4,000 (“Luxury”) for grey structure.
• Plot size. Bigger houses need thicker slabs and deeper beams, Avenir says, so they cost more per sq ft. Zameen’s grey structure figures show this: 1 kanal costs more per sq ft than 10 marla in all three cities.
• Basement. Avenir prices it separately, at Rs 4,300 a sq ft in Lahore and Rs 4,500 in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
• Soil and design. Rocky ground in parts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi makes foundations harder. Cantilevers, long spans and double-height rooms add cost.
• Society rules. Avenir adds about 6% in DHA for the extra inspection stages there.
• Labour. Zameen’s Lahore 10 marla grey estimate has Rs 16.23 lakh of labour in Rs 97 lakh, about Rs 481 a sq ft. Avenir puts labour at Rs 650 to Rs 850 a sq ft in Lahore and Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Many people also ask about “without material” (labour-only) rates. We found no dated, sourced rate for that, so we don’t quote one.

What do materials and labour cost now?

PBS publishes official monthly prices for 35 cities. In September 2026:

Sand, bajri, plumber and electrician rates, and the other cities, are in construction material prices in Pakistan.

Is house construction getting more expensive?

Yes. PBS’s urban consumer index for construction input items was 6.24% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier, and construction wages 9.69% higher. In rural areas, inputs rose 18.08%.

At wholesale, bricks, blocks and tiles rose 10.69% in the year, steel bars and sheets 5.29% and cement 3.51%. Cement and steel both dipped a little from August to September.

Plan the rest of the build

If you plan to let part of the house, read building a house to rent out before the drawings are final. It covers separate meters, the rent each layout earns and the tax. For finance, see home loans in Pakistan and the Akhuwat house loan.

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