Kuwait ponders real estate bourse

Kuwait is considering the creation of its first real estate bourse to regulate activities in the sector that has sharply fluctuated since the eruption of the global fiscal crisis in 2008, a Kuwait newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A utilities committee in the country’s parliament is in the process of preparing the necessary legislation for the project, which will be discussed after the summer recess, Al Anba Arabic language daily said.

It quoted parliament member, Naji Abdul Hadi, as saying the committee would summon public and private sector representatives concerned with the real estate sector to hear their views about the project.

“It is a parliamentary initiative aimed at regulating the real estate market. I expect the project to see light during the coming round of parliament sessions [after summer]. The establishment of a real estate bourse in Kuwait is an important project that will support the domestic economy,” he said.

Abdul Hadi said the law to set up the bourse would involve regulations on property finance, settlement of disputes, penalties, and speculation.

“This bourse will be the nucleus for a real start to control the real estate market in the country and end all negative practices. It will protect the buyer and at the same time preserve the credibility of the seller,” he said.

Most regional nations do not have a real estate bourse, but some of them are planning to issue mortgage laws to govern activities in this sector.

The real estate sector in the oil-rich Gulf has suffered from a sharp downturn because of the global credit tightness following an unprecedented boom in the previous three years because of strong oil prices and measures by some countries to open up their property sector.

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