Residential Market Remains 'Most Stable' In Qatar

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Joel Johnson | The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: The residential sector continues to remain the“most stable” in Qatar's realty market, explained industry sources.

Given the rise in interest rates and the general fall in confidence among investors, the sector encountered several challenges last year.

MRICS, Associate Director, Valuations at ValuStrat Qatar Anthony Fernando said:“The Qatari government and central bank have remained active on the policy front, making the borrowing process easier for those needing loans with minimal opportunity cost.”

He noted that the Middle East's leading consultancy group states that the market will be active with growing transaction volumes and is optimistic that the residential industry will continue to perform well in the years ahead.

Recently, the group announced its expansion in Qatar by adding a new dedicated residential valuation division. He said,“The expansion into a dedicated residential team has been a long-term goal for the firm.”

However the official highlights various obstacles in the valuation industry including the time it takes to gather preliminary and market data for valuations.

“Given the somewhat less transparent nature of the Qatari Real Estate Market, the time it takes to collect data, especially in commercial and industrial sectors, can be problematic, Fernando stated.

On the other hand, the residential industry has been a largely active component within the real estate market of the country. Due to its ever-growing and fast-paced nature, the sector requires decision-makers to act quickly and accurately.

He remarked“With the new expansion of our dedicated residential department, our objective is to cater to this demand, our team remains ready and active to receive valuation instructions and execute reports as quickly as 24 hours while fully complying with the RICS standards. This allows us to handle a larger volume of assignments with minimum resource allocation, facilitating and speeding up the process for which the customer requires the valuation.”

Manager, of Residential Valuations, at ValuStrat Qatar Marwen Azri highlighted that one of the firm's key advantages remains to be its large database of quarterly research data archived through the Market Research department, the overwhelming amount of previous valuation data and its data collected through various active real estate sources in the market.

“These aid in historical data and produce active trends through continuous and consistent appraisal. The team has also created varying execution plans to cater to differing situations, such as limited availability of property info, adoption of various key assumptions, and adopting different types of inspections such as desktop, drive-by, or full-scale inspections,” he expounded.

However, once a problem occurs, the team will swiftly consult with the client, providing opportunities to select alternative action plans, and ensuring the goals can be reached with minimal or no time delays.

FRICS, General Manager at ValuStrat Qatar Pawel Banach underscored that this expansion of a residential valuation division allows for faster commencement of valuation instructions.

He said,“The team equipped with surveyors is ready to be deployed at moment's notice to set out on the property inspection and preliminary data collection, whereas the valuation team remains ready at the station to receive feedback from our surveyors to immediately transfer data into the valuation process to produce a report
quickly.”

“The objective of the expansion is to deliver high-quality valuation reports compliant with international valuation standards at a competitive fee within a short period. We stand committed to this goal of providing prudent and accurate advisory services to our clients who need to make financially liable decisions promptly in a fast-paced residential market,” Banach added.

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