(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Joel Johnson
|
The Peninsula
Doha: The apartment rents in some of Doha's prime residential localities have witnessed a general decline by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 when compared to the same period in the previous year.
While both one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment categories saw discounts, one-bedroom rents proved more resilient and witnessed a lesser decline.
Speaking to The Peninsula in an interview, Abdullah Al Saleh (pictured), CEO of Sakan Qatar noted that on average, one-bedroom apartment rents in The Pearl Island went down by 3.1 percent, while Marina District in Lusail saw a decrease of 1.4 percent, and West Bay experienced a significant 8 percent decline in Q4 2024.
The market expert stressed that one-bedroom apartments in Fox Hills slightly surged by 1.5 percent, due to“better demand” last year than the the same period in 2023.
On the other hand, two-bedroom apartment rents at The Pearl Island saw a vital decrease of 8.6 percent, Marina District by 4.8 percent, and Fox Hills by 4.2 percent.
However, West Bay residential apartments experienced the opposite trend with average rents rising by 9.1 percent.
Al Saleh also highlighted the shifting tides in rent across the country. The fall of apartment rents in Doha's prime areas particularly at The Pearl Qatar and West Bay comes as the number of apartment rental transactions (both renewal and new contracts) during the second half of 2024 has fallen versus the same period last year.
According to recent data from the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Aqarat), it shows that the number of apartment lease contracts in the second half of 2024 in Al Dafna, Al Qassr, and Onaiza zones noticed a drop of 38 percent compared to the same period in its previous year, indicating weaker demand.
The analysts note that these likely explain the fluctuations in prices in these areas.
Given that Qatar's population has increased by the end of the third quarter last year when compared to the same period in 2023, Al Saleh stated that it is likely that the cause of the fall in the number of transactions in these areas is tenant relocation within Qatar.
He said,“Apartment tenants might have chosen to move to other residential options or locations offering better value and one factor could be prices.”
The median rent of The Pearl Qatar's one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments far exceeds West Bay, Marina District, and Fox Hills. Additionally, The Pearl Island's one-bedroom median rent of QR8,200 during the fourth quarter of 2024 was 37 percent more than Fox Hills of QR6,000, while The Pearl Qatar's two-bedroom median rent of QR11,000 was 52 percent more than Fox Hills, which is leased at QR7,250.
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