AMMAN -- Although trading in the property market dropped by 26 per cent in January, government revenues surged by nearly one-third.
According to a report released by the Department of Land and Survey (DLS) Sunday, trading in the real estate market during the first month of this year stood at JD300 million, while during the same month of 2011 trading reached JD405 million.
But the department's revenues climbed from JD13 million in January last year to JD17 million in the first month of this year, the report indicated.
DLS spokesperson Ibrahim Zu'bi attributed the rise in revenues and the decline in trading activity to halting incentives granted to homebuyers from 2009 until December 31, 2011.
As the domestic real estate sector was severely hit by the global financial crisis, the government decided in May 2009 to exempt the first 120 square metres (sq.m.) of apartments sized 150 sq.m. or less to apartments sized 300 sq.m. or less from registration fees.
In June 2010, authorities decided to increase the size of apartments eligible to benefit from the incentives by exempting the first 150 sq.m. (instead of the first 120 sq.m.) of apartments sized 300 sq.m. or less from registration.
The total value of the exemptions since the government's decision in June 2010 until the end of 2011 was around JD369 million, according to DLS figures.
Zuhair Omari, president of the Housing Investors Society, blamed the drop in trading on the government decision not to renew the exemptions, expecting the property sector to witness slow demand throughout the entire year.
In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, developers of housing projects predicted prices of residential units to remain stable, saying that there will not be an abundant supply of apartments available for sale.
According to the DLS report, the number of residential apartments sold in January of this year stood at 1,152 units, a 41 per cent drop over the same month of last year when a total of 1,954 apartments were sold out.
© Jordan Times 2012
