DOHA: Qatar’s real estate sector opened the New Year with record transaction deals. The combined value of the real estate transaction in the first week of 2015, beginning January 4, hit a record high of QR9.55bn, compared to QR1.41bn registered in the previous week.
The biggest deal was the sale of a huge house at Mesaimeer in Al Rayyan Municipality. The 1,335,806 square metre property was sold for QR7.62bn.
The past week’s transaction value is arguably the biggest weekly value in Qatar’s recent history. With the country’s FIFA-focussed projects picking up, Qatar’s real estate transaction value is projected to grow by an average 25 percent in 2015, market watchers told The Peninsula.
Of late, the market is witnessing increasing interest in the residential complexes. The complexes that had 400 to 500 residential units were sold for very high prices in the past week in the northern part of Qatar. This has pushed the land prices up in these areas.
Some commercial complexes were also sold at high prices in these areas. “The FIFA-related projects have started picking up in the suburbs of Doha. Investors are showing increasing interest in these areas. However, land prices, which have gone up in exponential rates over the past few months have almost stabilised recently except in a few areas,” a property evaluator, who doesn’t want his name in print told The Peninsula.
“There is still a huge demand for open land along the main roads of North Doha. The land prices in areas like Al Kheesa and Al Duhail have touched their peaks due to better infrastructure facilities and development of new commercial streets,” he said.
February and March will see the launch of projects by the government and the private sector in these areas which will further push up the property value, he said.
According to real estate transaction data released by the Ministry of Justice, the past week saw 120 transactions compared to 94 in the previous week. The second biggest deal in the past week was the sale of a villa in Al Waab under Al Rayyan Municipality for QR950m. Other top deals of the week include a QR70m transaction in Umm Ghuwailina under Doha Municipality and QR45m worth land deal under Al Dayeen Municipality.
During the first nine months of the past year, July witnessed growth in the transaction value which reached QR6.8bn, up 23.6 percent compared to July 2013.
The value during January stood at QR4.8bn, up 71.8 percent a year ago, but the trade value fell to QR2.9bn in February, down 6.5 percent compared to the same month in 2013, before rebounding to QR4.2bn in March, up 44.8 percent during the same month in 2013.
The Peninsula
