Major investors and property developers in Papua New Guinea have formed the Papua New Guinea Property Developers Association (PNGPDA). This association was established to increase the growth of the property sector of Papua New Guinea.

Only a handful of property development companies have been driving the property sector in Papua New Guinea for over a decade now. However, with this recent development, this move by the property developers is expected to drastically increase the growth rate of the property and business sector in Papua New Guinea.

The reason for this association is to take part in large-scale investments. This association represents roughly about 85 percent of the total A-grade property market.

Through this association, the developers and investors aim to establish some standards and benchmarks in the property industry to give the customers confidence. Strategically speaking, there are three main goals for establishing this association. One is to encourage, advocate, and push forward regulatory policies and reforms that support most of the property market.

The second goal is to improve the liquidity needs of the investors since, at this time, it is difficult to sell and buy the property, mostly due to the massive damage caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns. The lockdowns were the main reason that caused the prices to fall and jeopardized the market prices.

Moreover, like most African countries, Papua New Guinea faced the huge pressure of recovering its already damaged economy; this, in turn, resulted in new policies that were not helpful for the sector. Therefore, the association aims to improve the liquidity needs of the investors and increase the growth rate of the recovering economy.

The third goal of establishing this association is urban and town planning. As developers of major investments and projects, the developers in the association are interested in ensuring that all of the urban projects are properly planned. This will benefit not only the present but the future as well.

The association has also set some reforms for the industry that will improve the sector and its growth. One of the reforms the association introduced is introducing the strata title as a concept under the Papua New Guinea law. These Strata titles were passed with great efforts from the association by the Parliament last month this year. These reforms, together with the amendments to the existing law, paved the way for customers to sell and buy the townhouses, units, apartments, and furnished homes, which make up part of a larger property project development.

Papua New Guinea Property Developers Association (PNGPDA) aims to make buying and selling properties easier for customers new to the market or for those looking to generate profit off their investments in this sector. Improving the country’s real estate sector is also one of the strategies the PNGPDA is looking to adopt, to gain the trust of overseas investors and attract foreign investment.