PHOTO
26 January 2017
By Mohammad Shoeb
Qatar’s real estate prices have shown a steady recovery during the final quarter (October-December) of 2016 compared to the previous quarter (July-September 2016) which witnessed a steady decline in the price index, after hitting a record low for the year in September 2016, official data show.
According to Qatar Central Bank’s (QCB) updated data, country’s real estate price index in December 2016 hit 279.1 points, showing a quarter-on-quarter growth of 4.6 percent compared to 266.8 points registered in September 2016, which was the lowest point for the year. On month-on-month basis, the December 2016 index has inched-up by 2.2 points from 276.9 in November 2016, showing a marginal growth of 0.79 percent.
The real estate market, according to the monthly price index prepared by QCB based on the real estate data issued by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), hit the highest level of 307.6 in March for the year 2016. However, when compared on year-on-year basis, the index in December 2016 (279.1), showing a decline of 4.5 percent compared to the index of the corresponding month in the previous year (2015).
In November 2015, according to the central bank available data, the country’s real estate price index hit an all-time high of 311 points, after it declined by 18.6 points to 292.4 in December 2015, witnessing a month-on-month fall of nearly 6 percent.
Meanwhile, Ezdan Group’s latest report on the real estate market suggests that the market in the year 2016 remained stable and calm, despite a significant fall of QR28.4bn in the total value of transaction.
The combined value of real estate transactions in 2016 touched QR27.6bn, which is about 50 percent down compared to QR56.bn in 2015.
However, the report suggests that the decline in the total value of transactions in 2016 was mainly due to the weaker number of transactions for the sale and purchase of the plots of land as there was an apparent shortage of the availability of land plots in Doha.
According to the report, the combined value of the land plot transaction during the year stood at QR7.1bn, which accounted for only 25.8 percent of the total value of transactions during the year. While the sale and purchase of mixed used buildings, including villas and apartments, touched QR20.5bn, accounting for 74.2 percent of the total value for the year 2016.
The report also noted that there was a very high demand for plots of land throughout the year leading to the sharp increase in the prices of land plots in Doha, which does not reflect the actual value of the real estate assets. And this was one of the most important reasons for the lower number of transactions for land plots implemented during the year.
The Ezdan report highlighted that at a time when the global real estate market remained subdued owing to the volatile oil market, the Qatari real estate market, by and large, remained resilient against the impact of the dwindling energy prices.
By Mohammad Shoeb
Qatar’s real estate prices have shown a steady recovery during the final quarter (October-December) of 2016 compared to the previous quarter (July-September 2016) which witnessed a steady decline in the price index, after hitting a record low for the year in September 2016, official data show.
According to Qatar Central Bank’s (QCB) updated data, country’s real estate price index in December 2016 hit 279.1 points, showing a quarter-on-quarter growth of 4.6 percent compared to 266.8 points registered in September 2016, which was the lowest point for the year. On month-on-month basis, the December 2016 index has inched-up by 2.2 points from 276.9 in November 2016, showing a marginal growth of 0.79 percent.
The real estate market, according to the monthly price index prepared by QCB based on the real estate data issued by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), hit the highest level of 307.6 in March for the year 2016. However, when compared on year-on-year basis, the index in December 2016 (279.1), showing a decline of 4.5 percent compared to the index of the corresponding month in the previous year (2015).
In November 2015, according to the central bank available data, the country’s real estate price index hit an all-time high of 311 points, after it declined by 18.6 points to 292.4 in December 2015, witnessing a month-on-month fall of nearly 6 percent.
Meanwhile, Ezdan Group’s latest report on the real estate market suggests that the market in the year 2016 remained stable and calm, despite a significant fall of QR28.4bn in the total value of transaction.
The combined value of real estate transactions in 2016 touched QR27.6bn, which is about 50 percent down compared to QR56.bn in 2015.
However, the report suggests that the decline in the total value of transactions in 2016 was mainly due to the weaker number of transactions for the sale and purchase of the plots of land as there was an apparent shortage of the availability of land plots in Doha.
According to the report, the combined value of the land plot transaction during the year stood at QR7.1bn, which accounted for only 25.8 percent of the total value of transactions during the year. While the sale and purchase of mixed used buildings, including villas and apartments, touched QR20.5bn, accounting for 74.2 percent of the total value for the year 2016.
The report also noted that there was a very high demand for plots of land throughout the year leading to the sharp increase in the prices of land plots in Doha, which does not reflect the actual value of the real estate assets. And this was one of the most important reasons for the lower number of transactions for land plots implemented during the year.
The Ezdan report highlighted that at a time when the global real estate market remained subdued owing to the volatile oil market, the Qatari real estate market, by and large, remained resilient against the impact of the dwindling energy prices.
© The Peninsula 2017
