DOHA: Qatar’s real estate transaction value dropped by 15 percent on year-on-year basis during the first five months this year. The value of total transactions during January 2013-May was QR17.5bn compared to QR20.6bn during the same period in 2012.
The total transaction value in January 2013 dropped to a huge 46.5 percent compared to January 2012. The value in the first month of this year posted just QR2.8bn compared to QR5.2bn in January 2012. This February also saw a drop in the transaction value compared to February 2012. However, the transactions value picked up, though marginally, in all the remaining months, but failed to cross the total value posted during the corresponding period in 2012, Al Sharq reported.
However, leading market players expressed hope that Qatar’s property market is set to make a rebound in the second half of this year, when they expect some of the key World Cup related projects would be launched.
“The budget for the current fiscal has set aside funds for some of the important projects. The launch of these projects will further lift the spirits in the realty sector,” Al Sharq quoted an executive of a leading real estate company as saying.
A local businessman and a member of Shura Council said: “The real estate sector will soon witness a turnaround. It’s growing both in terms of transaction value and number of projects. The country would see a huge surge in the launch of new projects by the end of this year”, Al Sharq said.
Meanwhile, 2013 quarterly real estate market review released by a leading market player noted that Q1 2013 witnessed a sluggish start with lower transaction value compared to the 2012 averages. Land transactions accounted for 54 percent of all real-estate transactions by value in the quarter, down 67 percent in 2012. Doha accounted for 28 percent of transactions and 54 percent of total transacted value in Q12013, followed by Al Rayyan (19 percent of all transactions) and Umm Salal (16 percent).
The Peninsula
