Pakistan, Feb. 19 -- Home is where the heart is, but in our part of the world, it looks like our heart is in the real estate business, not a place to be called sweet home. Pakistan faces a staggering shortfall of over 12 million homes, yet people continue to pour their savings into property instead of building homes to live in. Who should be blamed for creating this plot buying trend? The media cannot even name the name behind those big real estate businesses.

A recent decline in lending rates has made real estate even more attractive for investment. Builders and developers see this as an opportunity to revive the housing sector, which could create jobs and boost over 70 allied industries. However, the real issue remains affordability. L...