Lebanon's property sales deals fall 10.6% in June

The number of property sales transactions in Lebanon declined by a 10.6 per cent year-on-year in June with number of property transactions falling 3.3 per cent in the first half to 33,830, according to a report.

Figures released by the Directorate of Real Estate and published by Bank Audi Weekly Monitor indicated that the total value of property sales in Lebanon in the first half of 2009 was at L£3.7033 trillion (Dh90.59 billion), down by 5.2 per cent from the value of property sales registered in the first half of 2008, The Daily Star reported. The decline in the value of property transactions along with a smaller drop in the number of transactions has naturally led to a fall in the average value-per-property sale, which was at L£109.5 million in the first half, down by two per cent from the same period in 2008.

"Nonetheless, such a decline is trivial when compared to the plummet in real estate prices witnessed across the region," said Audi.

The rise in property sales transactions to foreigners slowed to 9.6 per cent in the first half, relative to 18.5 per cent in 2008, as Arabs and Gulf citizens, major investors in Lebanon, were adversely affected by the crisis.

"But still, the fact that foreigners are still purchasing property in Lebanon, in spite of the crisis, is an indicator of the attractiveness of the Lebanese real estate sector to Arabs and foreigners," Audi said.

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