Ask ten people in Lahore how much a 5 marla plot costs and you will get ten different answers. Thirty lac. A crore. Something in between. And they are all telling the truth, because the number swings on the society, the block, and whether the road outside is carpeted or still a dirt track. If you have been searching how much is 5 marla and coming away more confused than when you started, here is the honest version. What 5 marla actually measures, what a 5 marla plot costs across DHA, Etihad Town, Lake City and a few others in 2026, and the one thing almost nobody explains: the gap between the plot you buy and the house you can actually build on it.
So how big is 5 marla, exactly?
This is where the confusion starts, because marla is not one fixed number in Pakistan. There are three standards floating around. In DHA, Bahria Town and most modern private societies, 1 marla equals 225 square feet. So a 5 marla plot is 1,125 square feet, which is roughly 125 square yards. On the old revenue standard that the Patwari and many older LDA records still use, 1 marla is 272.25 square feet, which pushes the same 5 marla up to about 1,361 square feet. Same "5 marla" on paper. Nearly 240 square feet of difference on the ground.
Why does this matter to you as a buyer? Because two plots both advertised as 5 marla can be genuinely different sizes depending on which standard the society uses. My advice is simple. Do not trust the label. Check the actual dimensions written on the file or the site plan, and confirm which marla standard that society follows before you agree on a price. In DHA the answer is almost always 225 square feet. A typical DHA-standard 5 marla plot measures around 25 feet by 45 feet.
Plot size is not house size, and this trips people up
Here is the part that surprises first-time buyers. You do not get to build on all 1,125 square feet. Every society has bylaws that force setbacks for the front lawn, side margins and mandatory open space, so you are usually allowed to cover somewhere between 65 and 80 percent of the ground floor. In real terms, the covered area of a 5 marla house works out to roughly 3.5 to 4 marla per floor, or about 950 to 1,100 square feet. Build double storey and you are looking at somewhere near 2,000 to 2,200 square feet of actual living space. That is a comfortable 3 to 4 bedroom family home. It is also a lot less than the "1,125 square feet" figure makes it sound at first glance, so budget around the covered area, not the raw plot size.
How much does a 5 marla plot actually cost in 2026?
The honest answer is a wide range, and anyone who gives you a single number without asking which society you mean is guessing. At the affordable end, developing societies have 5 marla plots starting around 30 lac. At the premium end, an established society with built infrastructure and possession can run past a crore for the same size. Location inside the society matters just as much as the society itself. A plot on a main boulevard, on a corner, or facing a park will always cost more than a standard plot two streets back, sometimes 20 to 30 percent more.
Below is an indicative snapshot for 2026. Treat these as market ballparks to orient yourself, not as quotes. Plot prices move week to week, and the only number that counts is the live one on the day you buy. For DHA specifically, you can see the current picture on our daily updated DHA file rates page.
| Society | 5 marla plot price (2026, indicative) | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Bahria Town Lahore | Approx 30 lac to 1.2 crore | Widest spread in the city. Sector G is the budget entry, popular built blocks like Jinnah and Gardenia sit higher. |
| Park View City | Approx 40 lac to 1 crore | Central blocks like Jasmine command the top of the range. |
| Etihad Town Phase 4 | From approx 62 lac, on installments | LDA-approved, 3-year easy installment plan. Good for stretching a budget over time. |
| Etihad Town Phase 3 | Lower booking entry than Phase 4 [confirm current rate] | More developed than Phase 4, so possession is closer. |
| DHA Lahore | [Confirm live on file rates page] | 5 marla is limited to specific phases and blocks, and usually the premium option of this list. Check live rates before comparing. |
| Lake City | Premium, smaller plots trade high [confirm current rate] | Strong infrastructure and amenities keep prices firm. 10 marla here runs well into crores. |
You will notice DHA and Lake City are left open rather than pinned to a number. That is deliberate. I would rather tell you to confirm the live figure than hand you a stale price that gets you excited about the wrong budget. If you want the real number for any of these today, that is a two minute job for us on a quick call.
The cost nobody quotes you upfront: construction
Buying the plot is only half the story, and this is where a lot of first-time budgets fall apart. The moment you decide to build, you are into a second number entirely. In 2026, builders in Lahore are quoting a grey structure on a 5 marla house from around 28 lac at the basic end up to the low 50s in lac for a higher specification. A finished, move-in turnkey home climbs a good deal higher again, into the 60s, 70s and beyond depending on your marble, fittings and how much imported material you insist on.
Two things to remember here. First, construction is priced on covered area, not plot size, which is exactly why the plot-versus-covered-area distinction from earlier actually hits your wallet. Second, get more than one quote. The spread between builders on the identical 5 marla plot can be 20 lac or more, and a low quote often hides thin steel, cheaper cement, or corners cut on the roof slab. Cheap grey structure is the most expensive mistake you can make, because you pay for it again the first monsoon.
Which 5 marla should you actually buy?
Depends entirely on your timeline and whether you plan to build or flip. If you are a first-time buyer on a fixed budget and you can wait a few years, an installment plot in an approved but still-developing society stretches your money the furthest. Etihad Town Phase 4 is the obvious example on that list, and you can read the full picture on the Etihad Town Phase 4 project page. If you want to build now and move your family in, do not chase the cheapest file. Pay the premium for a possession plot in a developed block where utilities are already live. You are buying a society that works today instead of a promise drawn on a map.
Now the downside, because every honest property post has one. The cheapest 5 marla files, the non-possession ones in blocks with no development, can sit dead for years. No roads, no water, no buyer when you want to exit. I have watched overseas clients hold a "bargain" file for four years and make nothing on it while an approved installment plot down the road quietly doubled. Price is not the same as value. This is exactly the kind of call the team at Saiban Associates makes with clients every week, matching the plot to what you actually need rather than to whatever is being pushed that month. If you want a lower entry point in an established authority, our write-up on DHA Phase 10 files is worth a read too.
Buying a 5 marla plot from Dubai, Riyadh or Doha
If you are reading this from the Gulf, the price is honestly the easy part. Your real questions are different. How do I know the plot is real and the society is legal? How do I pay without getting burned on the exchange rate or, worse, scammed by someone I have only spoken to on WhatsApp? Fair questions, and you should ask them loudly.
Start with approval. Before a single rupee moves, confirm the society is approved by the relevant authority, LDA for most of Lahore, and that the specific block and plot exist on the official record. A society being "famous" is not the same as being approved. Next, sort your paperwork: your NICOP, and a Power of Attorney if a family member is going to sign or take possession on your behalf. Move the money through proper banking channels so it is documented and traceable, never through a hawala arrangement or a personal account, however trusted the person sounds. And do not accept a photo of a file as proof of anything. Verification means someone independent physically checking the record.
This is the part Saiban Associates' overseas desk handles every week. We verify the file and the society status independently, coordinate with your family in Pakistan if someone is helping on the ground, and make sure nothing moves forward until you have seen proof rather than a promise. Buying land you cannot walk through in person is genuinely harder. It is not impossible, and it is a lot safer when the checking is done by someone whose name is on the line.
What to do next
So, how much is 5 marla? Somewhere between roughly 30 lac in a developing society and well over a crore in a premium built one, plus a construction budget on top if you are building. The size is the fixed part at 1,125 square feet on the DHA standard. Everything else, the society, the block, the possession status, is a decision, and each of those decisions moves the price. Get clear on your timeline first, then your budget, then pick the society that fits both.
If you want a live 5 marla figure for a specific society today, or an honest read on whether a particular plot is worth it, that is what we do. Browse the current Saiban projects, check the live DHA file rates, or just message the team with the society you have in mind and we will pull the real number for you. No pressure, no pitch, just the number and a straight answer on whether it makes sense.
