Qatar’s real estate market is booming again. The sector has weathered the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and is witnessing a significant rise in property deals. This can be gauged from the fact that property sales reached QR11.4bn in the first six months this year. Also, in September, real estate transactions reached QR3.16bn. The figures indicate that the sector is continuing its steady growth and also confirms the strength of the growing Qatari economy.
A more welcome step has been the government’s recent decision to allow foreign companies and individuals to own real estate in 25 areas in the country. An added incentive is that the owners of property that is worth no less than QR730,000 will be offered residency for them and their family.
Experts opine that the decision will open up prospects for promising and high-return investment opportunities that benefit local and foreign investors, while advancing Qatar’s real estate market and contributing to the realisation of Qatar National Vision 2030 and beyond. Recently, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior launched an office for Non-Qatari Real Estate Ownership in The Pearl-Qatar, in order to provide real estate ownership and utilization services through one window for investors.
The ongoing infrastructure projects being carried out despite the pandemic as part of urban development plans has had a huge impact on real estate market this year, especially after the opening of new roads, which facilitated access to many regions. This stimulated a rise in real estate activity by buying and selling of different types of properties, including lands and buildings, in light of the expansion of the urban areas and population.
In order to facilitate construction and obtaining building permits, which will ultimately cause a rebound in the real estate market, the Building Permits Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, launched the first edition of Building Requirements Guide. The electronic building permits system provides a single-window for obtaining building licences.
The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) is currently carrying out 33 infrastructure projects to serve more than 30,000 housing plots distributed over 17 areas in the country. And the Authority has announced nine new construction contracts for roads and infrastructure development projects in citizen-owned lands in order to serve 5,111 housing plots in different regions across Qatar. The real estate sector, supported by a series of policy-driven decisions, is staging a turnaround with property deals expected to increase.
