The company says Qatar’s real estate sector is set to improve in the wake of the cabinet law allowing non-Qataris to own property in the country and offering residency to foreigners.
Doha: Just Real Estate (JRE), Qatar’s leading property service provider, has reported strong 2020 leasing and sales in the country despite the COVID-19 pandemic with activity enhanced by the opening up of the market to foreign direct investment (FDI).
The company says Qatar’s real estate sector is set to improve in the wake of the cabinet law allowing non-Qataris to own property in the country and offering residency to foreigners.
“The law allowing access to the market will increase investment confidence leading up to the FIFA 2022 World Cup, further supported with other large-scale project investments such as Asia 2030,” said JRE Chairman Eng. Nasser Al Ansari. “An array of hotels, malls, residential, commercial, and mixed-use areas are expanding, with more properties now available.”
In its 2020 review, JRE has reported reaching near an 80 percent leasing occupancy rate to October. JRE said its leasing activities in Q1 2020 performed extremely well compared to the same period in 2019 achieving 20 percent growth in the first three months of last year. After an initial fall off over the summer, leasing rose again into triple digit growth from September 2020.
“Given the challenges of 2020, the fact that we have exceeded the forecasted occupancy rate before the year end is highly encouraging,” commented Al Ansari. “We saw a tremendous increase in Q1 2020 leasing compared to 2019. However, due to the pandemic, rental activities dropped off in April. Nevertheless, due to the inability of residents to travel and relocate during COVID-19 restrictions, rental activities picked up thereafter.”
JRE also recorded significant growth in Q3 2020, particularly in September when its sales performance rose almost 60% year-on-year.
“Given the strong performance in 2020 against incredible odds we are highly optimistic of a fruitful year ahead. There are exciting projects taking shape in Qatar and as we move towards hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, we envisage 2021 sales forging ahead as investors look for rental returns in a proven resilient market,” explained Al Ansari.
Qetaifan projects in Lusail City followed by La Plage in The Pearl, spiked residential sales for land and villa plots as investors appreciated their high potential returns.
“Investors in the medium to high-end categories are realising the value of released plots within Qetaifan’s residential projects as an opportunity to own land in a truly unique and iconic location with superb garden and waterfront views,” explained Al Ansari. “Villas within The Pearl were rightly perceived as delivering an enriching, engaging and distinctive lifestyle.
“People have had more time on their hands to review the market and its investment and return potential which led to local sales spiking more than usual in 2020. .”
International sales also performed well accounting for 17 percent of all JRE concluded purchases to October 2020 with UK properties accounting for 11 percent of sales and Turkish properties representing 6 percent.
“Our UK sales held up by the release of two stellar boutique properties – Fitzroy Gate and Green Park Village for investors looking for a foothold in London’s luxury market but at more affordable prices. Meanwhile, our Turkish sales were buoyed by our new representation of the DEV Project Lifestyle City being built within striking distance of Istanbul and the popular Bosphorus coast and our establishment of a dedicated international department, headed up by an expert in Turkish real estate, specifically to service our Turkish projects,” added Al Ansari.
