# Exit — South Asia

> Part of [Exit — universal contract](../exit.md). Cross-region patterns + liquidity heatmap live there.

## 🇮🇳 India
- **DOM**: Mumbai (Bandra/BKC/Worli/Powai/Lower Parel) ~120-300 / Delhi NCR (Lutyens / Vasant Vihar / DLF Cyber City Gurgaon / Greater Noida) 120-365 / Bengaluru (Indiranagar/Koramangala/HSR/Whitefield) 90-250 / Hyderabad (HITEC City / Banjara Hills / Jubilee Hills) 90-250 / Pune (Koregaon Park / Hinjewadi) 120-300 / Chennai (Adyar / Boat Club / OMR IT corridor) 150-300 / Goa (Anjuna / Vagator / Assagao / Calangute) 150-365+ / Pondicherry French-quarter 200-365+ / regional 200-500+ [verify with Income Tax Department / state Sub-Registrar]
- **Commission**: **1-2% each side typical** (informal market — RERA 2017 brought registration but broker law nascent for resi); 18% GST on commission where applicable
- **Contract**: Sale Deed via Sub-Registrar (state-specific) — RERA registration mandatory for projects >500 m² / 8 units since 2017; **Section 230A clearance** historically required — verify state practice
- **MLS**: NO MLS; **MagicBricks + 99acres + Housing.com + NoBroker** dominate portals; **RERA project registration publicly searchable** per state RERA portal
- **Discount**: 10-20% off asking; under-construction inventory deeper; resi inventory in over-built Tier-1 metro pockets (Greater Noida / Bengaluru Whitefield / Mumbai Thane outer) deeper
- **Sell-side**: **CGT split**: long-term (>24 months hold) **20% with indexation OR 12.5% without indexation** (post-Jul 2024 Budget reform — taxpayer choice for properties acquired before Jul 2024); short-term per personal slab; **TDS 1% on sale value > INR 5M** (buyer withholds, remitted to ITD); commission 1-2%; **NRI/OCI sellers face TDS 20%/30% on long-term/short-term gain** (s.195 — buyer remits)
- **Liquidity**: 🟢 MEDIUM-HIGH Mumbai BKC/Bandra/Worli + Delhi NCR Lutyens prime + Bengaluru Indiranagar/Koramangala (chronic undersupply prime); 🟢 MEDIUM Hyderabad HITEC City + Pune Koregaon Park; 🟠 MEDIUM Chennai OMR IT corridor + Goa expat coastal; 🔴 LOW Tier-3 cities; VERY LOW rural agricultural (foreign-buyer barred)
- **Quirks**: **NO golden-visa via real estate (UNIQUE absence)** — India does NOT offer property-pegged residency or citizenship; **foreign-buyer residential ban for non-NRI/non-OCI per FEMA 2018 Sch.I**; agricultural / plantation / farmhouse land barred even for NRIs/OCIs; **LRS USD 250k/yr cap on outbound remittance**; OCI lifetime multi-entry for Indian-origin descendants is the practical pathway; NRO/NRE bank-account split material for NRIs; English universal in business + legal + healthcare; Jio/Airtel/Vi 5G rapid 2024-26 rollout to top 100 cities; coworking Bengaluru/Mumbai/Delhi NCR/Hyderabad/Pune (WeWork/Awfis/91springboard/Smartworks — densest South Asia); naturalization 11+yr (very strict); dual citizenship NOT allowed; PMJAY public + extensive private (Apollo / Fortis / Max / Manipal / Medanta — JCI-accredited Bangalore/Hyderabad/Mumbai/Delhi NCR — **medical-tourism destination**); Mumbai 18-33°C / Delhi NCR 7-43°C + PM2.5 / Bengaluru altitude-moderated / Kerala monsoon — climate-band wide

## 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

- **DOM**: Colombo Western Province prime (Cinnamon Gardens / Colombo 7 / Bambalapitiya / Wellawatte / Mount Lavinia + Battaramulla / Rajagiriya / Nawala) ~120-300 / Galle / Mirissa / Hikkaduwa / Bentota / Tangalle (south coast tourist-corridor) 150-365+ (highly seasonal — Nov-Apr peak) / Kandy (Central Province) 150-300 / Nuwara Eliya (tea-country highlands) 200-365+ / Negombo + Trincomalee + Arugam Bay east-coast 200-365+ / regional + interior 300-500+ [verify with Registrar General's Department (RGD) Land Registry]
- **Commission**: **3-5% seller-pays typical** (informal market — Sri Lanka Real Estate Brokers Association nascent regulatory framework); 18% VAT on commission services where applicable
- **Contract**: bilateral Sale Agreement → notarial deed mandatory (every transfer must be attested by Sri Lankan attorney-at-law who is also registered notary) → registration at District Land Registry under **Registration of Documents Ordinance** OR **Title Registration Act No. 21 of 1998** (Bim Saviya — only ~10-15% rolling district coverage 2025); **foreign condominium purchase requires full price remitted from abroad up-front** under 2014 Act + 2018 amendment
- **MLS**: NO formal MLS; **LankaPropertyWeb / ikman.lk / Property.lk / Saleme.lk / Lamudi.lk** dominate; foreign-targeted: Sri Lanka Sotheby's / Knight Frank Sri Lanka / John Keells Properties / Cinnamon Property Sales
- **Discount**: 10-25% off asking 2024-2026 (post-2022 sovereign-default crisis property-market repricing + LKR volatility cycle + Cyclone Ditwah Nov 2025 USD 4.1bn damage); Colombo Western Province prime sticky on the upside; tourist-corridor (Galle / Mirissa / Hikkaduwa / Bentota) recovery 2024-26 from 2022-23 trough; **Central Highlands tea-country property repricing** post-Cyclone Ditwah ongoing
- **Sell-side**: **CGT 10% statutory** on gain (15% proposed under Inland Revenue Act Amendment 2025 — verify before quoting); **Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act No. 12 of 2006 s.3 Order (Gazette Ext. No. 2429/39, 27 Mar 2025)** doubled stamp duty on rental/lease agreements Rs.10 → Rs.20 per Rs.1,000 effective 1 Apr 2025; commission 3-5%; legal/notarial ~1-3%; **non-resident sellers face withholding** + repatriation rules — verify CBSL FX-control framework at sale; **VAT 15% → 18% effective 1 Jan 2024** (developer first-sale apartments only)
- **Liquidity**: 🟠 MEDIUM Colombo Western Province prime (Cinnamon Gardens / Colombo 7 condominium); 🟠 MEDIUM Galle tourist-corridor + Mirissa / Hikkaduwa / Bentota (foreign-buyer demand seasonal); 🔴 LOW Kandy + Nuwara Eliya (tea-country highlands); 🔴 LOW Negombo / Trincomalee / Arugam Bay; VERY LOW interior + agricultural; **Cyclone Ditwah Nov 2025** disaster-window distortions ongoing; **post-2022 sovereign-default crisis** civil-unrest series-break + IMF EFF (USD 3 bn) Mar 2023 ongoing through 2026
- **Quirks**: **Land (Restrictions on Alienation) Act No. 38 of 2014** (consolidated through Act No. 21 of 2018) PROHIBITS foreigners + foreign companies + Sri Lanka-incorporated companies with >50% foreign shareholding from **freehold land ownership outright**; clean foreign pathways: (1) **condominium parcel** under Apartment Ownership Law on **any floor** (post-2018 reform — full price must be remitted from abroad up-front), (2) **leasehold up to 99 years** of land; **Golden Paradise Residence Visa** launched 2024 (USD 200k bank deposit OR USD 75k condominium); **Cyclone Ditwah landfall 28 Nov 2025** caused USD 4.1 bn damage (World Bank GRADE) / 1.1M ha flooded (UNDP); Central Highlands tea-country price effect est. only; LKR volatile **305-320/USD May 2026** (CBSL spot 320.19 on 5 May; ~7% YoY weakening); ~21.76M pop (Census 2024); 9 Provinces → 25 Districts; Sinhala + Tamil official + English link language (deeds typically English in Colombo/south, Sinhala elsewhere, Tamil North/East); 5-digit postcodes; Bim Saviya Title Registration Programme rolling out; six- to seven-figure decisions require Sri Lankan attorney-at-law + chartered surveyor + verification at RGD Land Registry — non-negotiable

## 🇲🇻 Maldives

- **DOM**: **NO secondary market for foreign nationals** — constitutional foreign-prohibition (Article 251 of 2008 Constitution); foreign exposure only via **(a) resort-island Head Lease** (corporate Tourism Act track, Ministry of Tourism + Cabinet awarded — secondary transfers are corporate-control transactions not RE-secondary), **(b) tourist guesthouse on inhabited islands** (49% foreign-shareholding cap in Maldivian-majority partnership), **(c) resort sub-lease / branded-residence villa** (long-term leasehold rights tied to head-lease balance — Soneva Jani / Patina / Velaa / Cheval Blanc / One&Only schemes typically USD multi-million); Greater Malé Hulhumalé apartment market is **Maldivian-citizens-only secondary** (HDC schemes); **resort head-lease secondary transfers via corporate-share-sale** typically negotiated 6-18 months
- **Commission**: **3-5% in resort head-lease secondary corporate transactions** (M&A advisor + investment-banking style); **3-7% in branded-residence villa resales** (project-developer-administered); 16% Goods and Services Tax (G-GST) on certain commission services; small-island broker network (HDC + EDB + Tourism Ministry-vetted)
- **Contract**: head-lease-secondary = corporate-share-sale + Tourism Ministry approval + Cabinet endorsement (typically 6-18 months); branded-residence villa resale = leasehold assignment within head-lease + project-developer pre-approval + Ministry of Tourism notification; guesthouse 49%-foreign secondary = company-share-sale within Maldivian-majority structure
- **MLS**: NO MLS — institutional / private-treaty / resort-developer-administered; **Maldives Real Estate Brokerage thin** (handful of Singapore-based or Dubai-based brokers handle resort-island M&A); HDC + EDB + Tourism Ministry hold registry-of-record per asset class
- **Discount**: very wide — bid-ask gaps 15-40% in branded-residence villa secondary (small-pool buyer set + leasehold-balance dependency); resort head-lease corporate transactions 10-25% off marketed valuation typical
- **Sell-side**: **TGST 17% + Green Tax USD 12/bednight** both eff. 1 Jan 2025 (resort + guesthouse operating taxes — affect resort head-lease economic value); **16th Tourism Act Amendment 2025-12** discounted lease-extension window 2025-12-06 to 2026-06-05 (head-lease-extension cost reduced one-time); commission 3-7%; legal/transaction ~2-5% (Maldives-bar attorney mandatory + corporate-share-sale process complexity); **CGT integrated into corporate income tax / BPT** at 15% standard
- **Liquidity**: 🟠 LOW-MEDIUM resort head-lease M&A (institutional buyer pool — Asia-Pacific HNW + Middle East + Indian + sovereign-wealth funds); 🔴 LOW branded-residence villa resale (Soneva / Patina / Velaa / Cheval Blanc — small bid-ask matched-pool + leasehold-balance dependency); 🔴 LOW guesthouse 49% secondary; **VERY LOW Greater Malé Hulhumalé apartment** (Maldivian-citizens-only secondary — no foreign exposure); **climate-existential** ~1.5m above MSL — IPCC SLR exposure top-decile globally
- **Quirks**: **Article 251 round-trip**: 2015 amendment briefly opened freehold for ≥USD 1bn projects with ≥70% reclaimed land → **REPEALED 23 April 2019** by 19th People's Majlis; only legal pathway = **leasehold ≤99 years**; **resort head-lease** under Tourism Act Law 2/99 (50-yr USD-denominated; 2014 amendment up to 99-yr extension on USD 5M payment); **NO residential-market route for foreign nationals** (no Malé / Hulhumalé flat freehold for non-Maldivians); **Citizenship Muslim-faith adherence + 12-yr residence required** (Citizenship Act); **TGST raised to 17%** + **Green Tax USD 12/bednight** both eff. 1 Jan 2025; **16th Tourism Act Amendment 2025-12** lease-extension window; **Sovereign FX-reserves stress + IMF Article-IV consultations 2024-2026** keep peg under regulatory watch (MVR ±20% band around USD 1 = MVR 12.85; trading close to upper band ~MVR 15.4 Q1-Q2 2026); **Cadastre fragmented + paper-based** — HDC (Hulhumalé) + MoH (other Malé) + Tourism Ministry (resorts) + Local Councils each register in their domains — **no unified national digital cadastre**; ~515k pop (Census 2022); ~1,192 islands across 26 atolls; Dhivehi (Thaana script) + English working language; 4-digit postcodes; non-Muslim foreign nationals CANNOT acquire Maldivian citizenship

## 🇵🇰 Pakistan

- **DOM**: ⚠️ **no public DOM series + no official parcel-level house-price index** (`data not publicly available`); SBP publishes sector commentary, not a granular HPI; the **Zameen.com asking-price index** is the most-cited listing benchmark (seller-controlled, asking prices, often outdated) + Graana + Lamudi; **registered deed values are STRUCTURALLY UNDERSTATED** — three distinct numbers exist per parcel (provincial **DC rate** < **FBR valuation table** < actual **market rate**) so never treat one figure as the true price; top markets Lahore / Islamabad / Karachi (the diaspora triad, gated schemes DHA / Bahria Town / Gulberg); per local practice — triangulate listing + FBR valuation + DC rate, verify ≥3 active listings same city + scheme
- **Commission**: **`data not publicly available` — verify per agent** (no commission norm or statutory tariff located this pass)
- **Contract**: ownership runs on **TWO records that both matter** — the **mutation (*intiqal*) in the Record of Rights** (*jamabandi* / *fard*) at the **provincial Board of Revenue** + a **registered deed under the Registration Act 1908** (presumptive title, **NOT Torrens-guaranteed**); **land records are PROVINCIAL — there is NO national cadastre** (Punjab most digitised via PLRA / Arazi Record Centres; Sindh/KP/Balochistan materially less so — per-province caveat mandatory); the **realistic foreign market is the DIASPORA** (NRPs + Pakistan Origin Card holders) via the SBP **Roshan Digital Account → Roshan Apna Ghar**; **non-origin foreigners need prior Federal-Government / Ministry-of-Interior approval** (1980 Order under s.3 Foreigners Act 1946) + security clearance for cantonment/border/diplomatic-enclave zones; verify whether the asset is a "file" (allotment right, riskier) vs a possessed/mutated/registered plot
- **MLS**: NO MLS; **Zameen.com (largest) / Graana / Lamudi Pakistan** dominate (seller-controlled); the **FBR valuation tables + provincial DC rates** are the administrative price references, distinct from market price
- **Discount**: ⚠️ `data not publicly available` (no asking-to-sale gap series); residential prices reported rising **~10.5% YoY** (secondary/listing, directional only — Union Developers blog / Zameen index); the registered-deed-understatement gap means headline "prices" are unreliable proxies; per local practice — verify
- **Sell-side**: **FBR §236C advance tax on SALE is BUYER-of-the-tax = the seller** (Finance Act 2025: filer **4.5%** ≤Rs.50m / **5%** Rs.50–100m / **5.5%** >Rs.100m; higher for late-filers/non-filers) — **§236C paid is adjustable against final CGT**; **CGT under §37(1A) Income Tax Ordinance 2001** — property acquired **on/after 1 Jul 2024 = flat 15% for filers regardless of holding period** (holding-period concept eliminated by Finance Act 2024; non-filer → slab with a 15% floor), pre-1-Jul-2024 acquisitions keep the holding-period taper to 0% after 6 yrs; **provincial stamp duty / registration / CVT / annual property tax are PER-PROVINCE and `data not publicly available` to a primary source this pass — do NOT state a provincial stamp-duty % as fact**; ⚠️ **FBR rates change with EVERY Finance Act — always "verify current Finance Act"**
- **Liquidity**: 🟠 MEDIUM Lahore / Islamabad / Karachi gated schemes (DHA / Bahria Town / Gulberg — concentrated diaspora-investment demand via RDA / Roshan Apna Ghar); 🔴 LOW non-scheme urban resale + smaller cities; VERY LOW rural/agricultural (provincial land-revenue law + foreign-acquisition restrictions); unapproved/litigated schemes trade at a steep discount for a reason — verify approval status
- **Quirks**: **Repatriation is the dominant financial risk + the key exit fact** — Pakistan operates **EXCHANGE CONTROLS** (SBP Foreign Exchange Manual; the PKR is **NOT freely convertible** for residents); **clean, guaranteed repatriability exists IF you buy through RDA / Roshan Apna Ghar** ("Investments made in Pakistan through RDAs are fully repatriable and subject to full and final taxation" — SBP primary, a general-RDA rule understood-but-not-itemised to extend to property proceeds; get bank/SBP confirmation in writing pre-purchase); **outside the RDA channel, repatriation depends on documented inward-remittance provenance** of the purchase funds (the exact FE-Manual clause for immovable-property sale-proceeds was not pinned this pass — confirm with the Authorized Dealer bank/SBP before buying); **non-resident POC/NICOP holders can access the FILER §236C/§236K rate even without filing** (material diaspora benefit); **PKR is a managed float** (NOT a peg; broadly stable vs USD since Jan 2024 under an active IMF EFF, exchange-rate flexibility the "primary shock absorber"); **NO citizenship-by-investment** (a residency-only Foreigner (Long Term Residency) Order, 2025 exists — residency, not nationality, with two unreconciled BoI investment figures); final appellate court for civil/property matters = **Supreme Court of Pakistan** (constitutional jurisdiction moved to the new **Federal Constitutional Court** by the 27th Amendment, signed 13 Nov 2025; no Privy Council appeal)