Qatar: Qatar's real estate market witnessing a steady increase

With Qatar's real estate market witnessing a steady increase in the land price, rentals have gone up something between 20 % and 30 % this year, compared to the previous year.
The pressure on land prices had its bearing on the rentals mainly during the second half of this year.

The spurt in the rentals is mainly because of the sharp increase in price of lands. The hike in the land values were initially recorded in Central Doha, which subsequently stretched out to in and around Doha City, Al Arab reported quoting market players as saying.
Ali Isahaq, a leading appraiser, attributed the brisk land deals to the easy availability of loans in the country. The rise in the land prices and the rentals show that Qatar's real estate sector has really picked up, next a brief lull, he noted.

The growing request for lands and the rise in the rentals are strong indicators of growing optimism of investors.
According to Ali Isahaq, the land price has gone up by 50 % in some parts of Doha compared to last year. The rentals have as well grown up by 20 % to 30 % this year compared to the previous year, he said.

"Indications are that Qatar's real estate sector is heading to the pre-2008 levels at the same time as the rentals reached a new high," noted Ahmed Al Aroqui. The market receives an increasing number of enquiries. A large number of vacant buildings /space have been leased out during the last few months, attracting additional developers and investors to the market, he said.

Ahmed Jassim Al Jolo, Chairman of Qatar Society of Engineers blamed the speculators for the sudden rise in the land price. Speculators are manipulating the market. The profit margin of the developers is expected to drop by 10 % to 12 % this year due to the spurt in the land price, he said.
"The market is currently witnessing a sharp rise in both land price and rentals. Going by the current trend, it would be difficult to estimate the trend in 2014. It would be hard to predict how the market is going to play out next year," Al Jolo said.

Ezdan's weekly statement noted transactions of plots accounted for 63.1 % of Qatar's total real estate transactions, with a price of QR548.2m, during the initial week of December 2013.
Of the real estate transactions in Doha Municipality, 53.6 % was plot-related deals. In Al Wakra, plot deals accounted for 87 % of the total transactions with a total price of QR122.5m, while the combined price of 'other real estate' transactions was just QR18.4m.