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29 March 2024

Qatar’s 2013 property sector growth stifled by price surge

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By Staff

A surge in property prices and ensuing decline in demand stifled growth in Qatar’s real estate market to just around three per cent in 2013 after it rocketed by nearly 72 per cent in 2012, a real estate firm in the gas-rich Gulf country said on Wednesday.

Property market turnover in the world’s dominant LNG exporter rose to about QR45.5 (Dh46 billion) in 2013 from QR44.06bn (Dh44.5bn) in 2012, Roots Real Estate said in a report about the 2013 property market performance.

It showed growth last year was dwarfed by the 72 per cent surge recorded in 2012 compared to 2011, when turnover stood at QR25.6bn.

The report also showed growth in the number of real estate transactions was also slow in 2013, when they rose by around 3.26 per cent to 8,481 from 8,213 in 2012. The number of deals in 2012 was nearly four times those in 2011, when they stood at 2,360.

“The slowdown in both value and the number of deals last year was due to the surge in property prices…this increase led to a decline in return for investors and this in turn discouraged them to invest in the sector,” Roots manager Ahmed Al Arouki said.

“As for 2012, demand was strong mainly because of the government’s announcement of a number of major projects such as the new airport and sea port, the metro, roads and other infrastructure projects besides the approval of large budgets for Qatar’s Vision 2030 and plans to host the 2022 World Cup.”

A breakdown showed the capital Doha accounted for just below half the total property deals in 2013, with a value of around QR21.4bn.