#Al Khraij

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Properties for sale in Qatar

The real estate sector in Qatar is largely overseen by government institutions, including local municipalities <a href="https://adhunters.com/en/Al-Rumaila/"> buy Property in Doha Qatar furnished flats in Al Rumaila</a> and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which has a leading regulatory role as well as being responsible for registering property transactions. In October 2018 the MoJ signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK’s Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a professional body that promotes global best practices in the industry, to improve market transparency and investor confidence by regulating the real estate sector in accordance with international standards.

There have recently been several legislative and regulatory reforms aimed at strengthening the real estate market. In May 2019 the Cabinet approved a new draft law covering the regulation of real estate development and proposed expanding the companies and entities permitted to participate in tenders, auctions, practices, competitions and direct agreements. The new draft law replaces Law No. 6 of 2014, which stated only insurance companies and banks were permitted to participate in these agreements.

In January 2020 the Ministry of Municipality and Environment simplified the processes for obtaining building permits and construction certificates, turning them into a single online application. These updates were put into effect in early February 2020.

In March 2019 Law No. 16 of 2018 was implemented, increasing the number of freehold zones in which non-Qataris can purchase real estate from three to 10. In addition to designated areas such as The Pearl, West Bay Lagoon and Al Khor Resort, foreigners are now allowed freehold ownership in Rawdat Al Jahaniyah, Al Qassar, Al Dafna, Onaiza, Al Wasail, Al Khraij and Jabal Theyleeb.

Although foreigners remain unable to obtain Qatari citizenship, the purchase of real estate with a minimum value of QR728,000 ($200,000) in any freehold zone automatically grants permanent residency to both buyers and their families. An additional measure to entice foreign investment saw visa rules altered to allow homebuyers to obtain real estate visas, letting them live in the country without sponsorship. According to Mazen Alsbeti, chief business development officer at general contracting company Power International Holding, this liberalisation of visa laws is encouraging non-Qatari real estate investment in a number of areas, particularly in the freehold zones of West Bay Lagoon, Onaiza and the recently developed Lusail City.

Size & Performance Real estate activity peaked in 2017 with a total value of QR38.3m ($10.5m). Following the establishment of the blockade and a dip in oil prices, in 2018 there was a significant decline in the value of real estate activity. Total real estate activity fell from QR10m ($2.7m) in the fourth quarter of 2017 to QR9.4m ($2.6m) in the first quarter of 2018 – a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 5.6%.

According to local media, in 2019 the country’s real estate sector saw deals valued at more than QR22.8bn ($6.3bn). In the first quarter of 2019 the sector saw some 1065 transactions totalling QR5.1bn ($1.4bn), while in the second quarter transactions were valued at around QR5.7bn ($1.6bn) from 930 transactions. In the third quarter of 2019 the sector slowed somewhat, with 823 transactions totalling QR4.5bn ($1.3bn); however, this turned around in the last quarter of the year, which saw a high in terms of value with 934 deals accounting for QR7.1bn ($2bn). According to the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA), December 2019 saw deals worth QR1.58bn ($433.7m), compared to QR1.55bn ($425.4m) in November of that year. This monthon-month growth of around 2% indicates that slow but steady improvement may be anticipated for 2020. The highest transaction prices were seen in The Pearl, Salah Al Jadidah, Lusail and Abu Hamour.

Individual property sales have fared less well in recent years. The real estate price index, which lists property sales registered with the Ministry of Interior, rose by 16.5% and 34.7% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. October 2015 marked an all-time high of 311.5 points on the index, according to the Qatar Central Bank’s “Financial Stability Review”. Since 2016 the industry has slowed and the real estate price index has subsequently declined. At the end of 2018 the index stood at 246.14 and after briefly rising to 250.74 during the first quarter of 2019, declined to 225.76 in December of that year.

According to Mohamad Al Ishaq, rental and real estate manager at management consulting company KBM Group, the fall in prices is not a cause for concern and is part of a healthy rebalancing that has made Qatar’s real estate more competitive regionally and has attracted foreign investors. “Over the last few years land prices in particular have fallen by between 10% and 40%, which means that people are buying and building again,” Al Ishaq told OBG.

Major Developments Commercial and residential stock continue to increase in the wake of a number of ongoing developments, the largest of which is Lusail City, located along the northern coast of Umm Salal, north of Doha. Developed by Qatari Diar, the real estate wing of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Lusail covers an area of around 38 sq km. In addition to the 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the new city is home to 10 hotels, 3000 villas, and 12,000 apartments and retail areas, and will accommodate approximately 200,000 permanent residents.

Lusail City is not the only mixed-use development under way. Al Waab City, owned by Nasser Bin Khaled Group, covers around 1.2m sq metres and is estimated to cost QR13bn ($3.6bn). Built with a focus on environmental sustainability, the development contains 2411 residential units, 232,700 sq metres of commercial space and a 425-room hotel complex. Other notable developments in the pipeline are Asia Towers, Al Sadd and Msheireb Downtown Doha. Developed by Msheireb Properties, a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation, the Msheirib Downtown Doha project was completed in 2019 and is considered the first fully sustainable regeneration project in Qatar. Meanwhile, the first phase of the Hamad International Airport extension, which will increase its annual capacity to 53m passengers by 2022, is also nearing completion. The extension, whose second phase will increase annual capacity to 60m passengers, is expected to drive growth in the hospitality sector (see Tourism & Sport chapter).

Other developments that look likely to have a positive impact on the real estate market include Qatar Rail services like the Doha Metro, which opened in 2019, and the Lusail Light Rail network, scheduled to launch in 2020. Real estate developments in areas served by Doha Metro’s 37 stations will benefit from greater connectivity between residential, commercial and leisure districts. Tenant demand in these areas is expected to increase, putting positive pressure on occupancy rates and rental prices