By SIDI MOHAMED
DOHA: A large number of new, ready-to-use residential buildings in and around the city are lying vacant despite increasing demand.
The demand for housing, particularly in Doha and its near-suburbs far exceeds supply, fuelled mainly by a rising expatriate population.
According to real estate market operators, the owners of these buildings want to let them only to companies and not to individuals and families.
And that is one of the additional factors pushing up rents as so many buildings lying vacant is mounting pressure on demand, according to real estate expert, Faisal Al Dosri. “It’s undoubtedly a negative phenomenon and adversely impacting the rental market,” Al Dosri told local Arabic daily Al Arab in comments published yesterday.
The owners of new buildings prefer big companies to rent out flats. Moreover, they are waiting for the rents to rise.
They don’t want problems like delayed rent payments and hassles like collecting rents from individual users. “Also, when you are striking a deal with a big company, it could be for longer periods, of up to three years, for instance, and the rents could be had in lump sum,” said Al Dosri.
These are the benefits for the owners, but it is the limited-income man who suffers in the as rents go up due to shortages being created.
This phenomenon (of owners of new buildings wanting companies as tenants) is encouraging limited-income people to move into shared apartments and partitioned villas, said Al Dosri.
Moreover, construction materials are becoming expensive and their prices are likely to rise further with mega development projects being launched.
There would be more demand for materials that would trigger shortages, tempting some to profiteering, said Al Dosri.
“This would escalate house rents in the months and years to come,” warned Al Dosri.
Then, there are greedy and illegal real estate brokers who remain on the prowl, operating from their cars.
They are making it harder for the limited-income family man who is on the lookout for affordable housing, he added.
“There is no official monitoring. Such brokers are operating without fear.” Ahmed Jolo, head of Qatar Engineers’ Association, told the daily that he agreed building owners preferring companies as tenants was not a good sign and that was further pushing up rents. The Peninsula
