The real estate market in Qatar is expected to witness significant growth from the next year as more companies and investors are set to begin their operations in Qatar. Many firms, which are shifting their businesses from the blockading countries, are set to be the major driving force to the real estate market growth, say experts from the industry.
The demand for real estate properties, especially the commercial space and hospitality sector, are set to see fair growth supported by government’s important policy decisions such as steadfastness of diversifying the local economy and promoting tourism industry.
“There is no doubt that the blockade has caused a lot of changes in the market situation, including the real estate sector, and many of these changes are positive for the local market for the longer run. I see a lot of good opportunities are coming as the government has decided to waive visa for visitors from 80 countries, which will not only boost the hotel occupancy rates, but also have cascading effects on other sectors of the booming economy. This is a popular sentiment in the market across the board,” said Mana Ibrahim Al Mana (pictured), Chairman of CENTURY 21 Qatar, one of Qatar leading real estate services firms.
“In addition, a lot of companies and investors are coming to Qatar to tap growing business opportunities arising as a result of massive spending on infrastructure development and economic diversification to transforming the local economy into a sustainable society,” added Al Mana speaking to this newspaper.
He also noted the country’s strong economic fundamentals coupled with business-friendly environment, economic reforms, industrial parks, airport and sea ports and others will work as catalyst supporting a vibrant real estate market.
Al Mana, who is also the chairman of Merraas real estate company, said that his company has signed deals with a major property developer to supply about 30,000 square metres of retail space at the newly opened Al Mirqab Mall located in Fereej Al Nasr area.
Government entities, as part of their efforts to support SMEs to achieve economic diversification through a vibrant private sector, have come forward subsidising rents of offices and retail spaces to encourage startups, added Al Mana, who is also the chairman of Qatar’s West End Park. “We have started receiving enquiries, especially from startups and other small and medium companies, who are looking forward to open and expand their businesses in Qatar.”
The growing number of transactions and new projects launched by the real estate companies confirm that Qatar’s real estate market is strong enough to overcome any pressure and will continue growing smoothly.
The real estate market over the last couple of years have shown a moderate recovery after a temporary lull due to Eid and summer holidays. The combined value of real estate transactions during the fourth week of August (20 to 24) reached QR1.23bn, showing a record increase of 516 percent compared to QR199m worth of deals the week before.
While the total value of real estate transactions during the month of August reached QR2.2bn showing a growth of 22 percent compared to QR1.8bn witnessed in the previous month.
The recent opening of malls, including Doha Festival City and Al Mirqab mall, have added more commercial spaces increasing the supply of organised retail space to more than one million square metres of leasable space, distributed across 16 shopping malls.
According to a latest report by DTZ Qatar, a real estate services firm, Qatar’s retail market remains underpinned by the high disposable income of a significant section of the population.
