OneRoof.co.nz reported Paiman Nazari, 23, is studying full-time at Canterbury University while running a multimillion-dollar property development firm.
When he was 18 and in his final year of high school, Nazari completed his first development - three four-bedroom townhouses in a new subdivision.
The properties sold quickly, allowing him to move onto his next project, OneRoof reported.
Nazari - who now runs PRA Developments - said the first project was "a bit difficult".
“I didn’t have any knowledge of construction or real estate, so it was a bit difficult,” he told OneRoof.
PRA Developments has now built 14 units, including a major development with two-to-three-bedroom townhouses on Cashel St.
The homes near Christchurch's new $683 million central city stadium are set to hit the market this month, reported OneRoof.
Another of his big projects - a block of 11 two-bedroom townhouses on Division St near Westfield Riccarton - is due to be completed in October.
Nazari told OneRoof his family has given him a lot of support but he’s running the company.
"I’ve been managing it since day one. I’m taking care of basically everything - growing the business etc."
His 19-year-old younger brother joined the company last year, Nazari told OneRoof, and other family members also help out.
Nazari said he had always been interested in property and construction so moving into property development was a natural fit.
That is why he chose to study towards a three-year Bachelor of Commerce degree.'
"I’m kind of mixing theory with practical,” he told OneRoof.
"At the start, it was hard planning full-time study with work, but with good planning and discipline, you can do it."
“We only buy land in premium locations. Most of our clients are investors and if you have a house in a good location, there’s [the potential for] huge capital growth and good rental income," he told OneRoof.
Nazari moved to New Zealand from Afghanistan in 2018. He says Christchurch has potential that other New Zealand cities do not.
"It’s affordable and it’s undervalued as well," he said.
Nazari told OneRoof he is aiming to build 50 houses by 2026 and expand into developing subdivisions once he has completed his studies at the end of the year.
He’s already gone global, having expanded his business to Perth in 2021. He had been visiting family members there and realised it was a similar market to Christchurch.
“I was seeing that Perth, like Christchurch, was growing rapidly and was undervalued compared to other Australian big cities. It was a no-brainer for us to launch [the business] over there as well.”
Ray White Christchurch agent Ali Ahmadi, who moved to Christchurch from Afghanistan in 2010, told OneRoof he met Nazari at an Afghan gathering in 2023.
Ahmadi, 24, said they realised how much they have in common.
Ahmadi told OneRoof: "What impresses me most is how he’s managing all this himself - juggling development, project management, and his university studies, and he is still passing with flying colours.”
Ahmadi started selling PRA Developments’ houses last year. He sold five townhouses on Rotherham St in Riccarton last year and is currently marketing the Cashel St development.
