(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Sachin Kumar/ The Peninsula
Qatar's real estate sector has staged an impressive comeback after going through a tumultuous year. After witnessing a lull in transactions during the second quarter of this year, the economic activity has again gained momentum, which is evident by significant rise in deal-making activities.
One of the main highlights of the year was further opening of real estate sector by allowing foreigners to own real estate in more areas in the country.
The move has boosted the sentiments of the stakeholders in real estate sector. With this move, the sector has become more accessible to a wider pool of investors. The flow of foreign capital is expected to increase.
A look at monthly and quarterly real estate transactions shows that the confidence is returning back gradually. According to the Planning and Statistics Authority data, deals worth QR5.4bn were signed during April-June quarter of this year. The second quarter was crucial for this sector as the pandemic had begun to show its impact on the economy.
This slowed down the activities, including real estate transactions because of the restrictions imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus. However, as a result of proactive measures taken by the government, the economic activity has started to gain momentum.
These increased deal-making activities in real estate sector which resulted signing of deals worth QR10.1bn during July-September quarter.
The data for October-December quarter is yet to come, but the monthly figures regarding transactions signal that the real estate sector the recovery is sustainable. Values of deals and number of deals registered strong growth in November compared to October. The sector witnessed real estate deals worth QR2.38bn last month compared to QR1.75bn in October, reflecting a rise of around 36 percent.
In previous months, the deal activities have shown rising trend. The deal-making activities had reached their lowest in April and May during the year. Deals worth QR818m were signed in April in total 215 transactions while in May deals worth QR758m were struck in 180 transactions.
Property sales had reached QR11.4bn during the first six months of the year, compared to the QR10.8bn recorded during the same period last year.
During the year, the real estate sector saw further easing of rules to attract foreign investors. In October, government announced the decision to allow foreign companies and individuals to own real estate in 25 areas in the country. According to the new decision, the owners of property which is worth no less than QR730,000 will be offered residency for them and their family. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior has launched an office for Non-Qatari Real Estate Ownership in The Pearl-Qatar, in order to provide real estate ownership and utilization services through one window for investors. These measures will attract foreign investment into Qatari real estate market.
Sensing the uptick in economic activity, real estate companies have also increased their activities. In October this year, Barwa Real Estate launched the construction works for two upcoming projects in Al Wakrah City. The first is ‘Madinatna', which is a residential city for families, and the second is ‘Barahat Al Janoub', workers accommodation project. Ezdan Real Estate Company, the major real estate developer, yesterday announced launch of the second phase of its promotional campaign for the residential and commercial units in ‘Ezdan Oasis'.
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