BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: The combined value of Qatar’s real estate transactions over the past nine months hit a record QR45.9bn ($12.6bn), a double-digit growth of 32.4 percent compared to a year ago. The country’s real estate transactions value for the first nine months of 2014 stood at QR37.2bn.
When compared to the transaction value of the same period in 2013 (QR32.3bn), the 2015 figures record a huge jump of 42 percent.
According to real estate experts and investors, this boom in the sector is largely due to the strong support of the government’s massive spending in infrastructure development programmes.
According to market analysts, the total value of real estate transactions by this year-end is expected to touch a whopping QR70bn against QR56bn in 2014.
The real estate investors are upbeat about the sector’s strong performance and expect this bullish trend to continue until 2022.
Meanwhile, figures provided by DTZ Qatar, the country’s top global real estate advisor, show that the company valued over $60bn of real estate assets in the last 12 months, 70 percent of which were for loan security purposes providing a strong indicator of a thriving market.
DTZ Qatar values assets across the MENA region, most in Qatar. The highest valued asset was valued at circa $4bn in Doha. In the previous 12 months the company’s valuation department evaluated assets totaling $49bn. This spike in loan requests in the real estate market has led DTZ Qatar to expand its valuation team to maintain pace with the growing demand.
Edd Brookes, General Manager of DTZ Qatar in Doha, stated:“Valuation is a core skill line within DTZ Qatar. Under Adam Stewart’s diligent stewardship our Valuation Department provides first class and impartial valuation reports to our wide range of clients throughout the Gulf region. We have recently brought in two newly graduated surveyors and are coaching them through their professional exams. It is important to us that our team members are properly qualified in the field to uphold our reputation for international best practice allied to a deep understanding of our regional markets.”
Adam Stewart, Associate Director, Head of Valuation Advisory in DTZ Qatar commented: “Strengthening the team allows us to uphold the high level of client servicing that we pride ourselves in delivering. Providing accurate, thorough and credible information and analysis is a significant factor in ensuring the sustainable growth of Qatar’s real estate sector.”
Stewart says that the increase in valuations is attributed to many factors. He said: “Job creation in the non-hydrocarbon sectors, particularly in the construction and infrastructure and retail service sectors, has led to an increase in population which in turn has led to higher demand for commercial and residential real estate development. According to the Qatar Central Bank Real Estate Index, the price of real estate has increased by 23.2 percent in the 12 months leading up to June 2015.”
DTZQatar is a member of the global real estate services business, Cushman & Wakefield. DTZ Qatar brings international best practice and local expertise to the market. With a long standing track record in the Qatari market, our aim is to play an integral role in the country’s vision of sustainable growth.The Peninsula
