Qatar real estate sector continues to show strong performance. The number of transactions and the value of deals are on rising trajectory. The number of real estate transactions signed in June 2018 nearly doubled compared to the corresponding month last year.
The total number of properties sold during the month of June, across all eight municipalities in Qatar, reached 267, up 97.8 percent compared to 135 properties traded in June 2017, according to the latest official data released by the Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics data.
The combined value of real estate transactions signed during the month of June 2018 stood at QR1.33bn.
The real estate sector is expected to grow in the coming years, as the government has taken several measures in the past to boost construction and real estate sector. In December last year, the Cabinet had approved the draft law on regulating non-Qatari ownership and use of real estate. The rising trend in the real estate sector is in sync with the overall rising trend in the Qatari economy.
According to Qatar Central Bank (QCB) figures, Qatar’s current account balance recorded a surplus QR23.4bn in 2017, in contrast to a deficit of QR30.1bn in 2016. The recovery in global energy prices enabled the turnaround in the current account balance and restores back the surplus position that Qatar had maintained for nearly two decades prior to 2016.
As a percentage of GDP, the surplus stood at 3.8 percent in 2017 as against a deficit of 5.4 percent in 2016,
Within the current account, the trade (goods) account surplus increased to QR133.7bn in 2017, a sharp increase of 44.8 percent from the surplus of QR92.4bn in 2016.
Increase in trade surplus is followed from a combination of sharp rise in exports and contraction in imports. While exports grew by 17.8 percent to QR245.7bn, driven by hydrocarbon exports, imports declined by 3.7 percent to QR112bn on an annual basis.
The QCB document noted under the ‘portfolio investment’ Qatar saw a net capital inflow of QR33.5bn during 2017, increasing from QR22.1bn during 2016.
With the sustained recovery in energy prices, the share of energy related exports in total exports increased to 84.2 percent during 2017 from 81.6 percent during the previous year. Because of this surge in hydrocarbon exports, total exports as percentage of GDP increased to 40.3 percent during 2017 from 37.6 percent.
On the other hand, the overall deficit under non-merchandise heads in 2017 declined by 9.9 percent to QR110.3bn from QR122.5bn.
