Qatar’s real estate market is one of the fastest growing sectors and is attracting strong investment. The country’s upcoming and existing real estate developments are providing a selection of lucrative opportunities for investors, said a recent report by IPA Qatar and EY.
‘Qatar’s Real Estate Market Outlook - Building the Future’ underlines the growth prospects of different sectors. “The real estate sector offers unique investment opportunities to investors in the growing economy and stance of Qatar. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is ranked second after hydrocarbon in attracting investments, reflecting the attractiveness of the sector. The GDP of the real estate sector grew by 18 percent between 2015 and 2020, with the number of issued building permits nearly doubling.”
Doha and Al Rayyan have the highest levels of interest from a transactions volume perspective with most of the residential supply in Doha being in the form of apartments, while Al Rayyan has a predominance of villas and compounds. Residential supply also witnessed a healthy growth of 6.9 percent per annum between 2010 and 2020, outpacing the population growth of 3.8 percent per annum during the same period mainly on account of the surge in the demand for villas and apartments.
Existing permits for upcoming residential developments are expected to increase the stock by approximately 24,000, mainly represented by municipalities such as Doha (48 percent) and Al Rayyan (23 percent). Doha, Wakra, and Al Sheehaniya municipalities are largely dominated by apartments in comparison with Al Rayyan, Umm Salal, and Al Dayyan, which primarily comprise villas and compounds.
Demand for premium-quality buildings is on the rise as tenants are increasingly opting for apartments that are complemented with high-quality building finishes and free amenities. Apartments are generally in higher demand than villas, with 1BHK and 2BHK being the most desirable, given the large population of single males and young couples traveling to Qatar for work.
Heightened demand in areas such as Lusail, The Pearl, Msheireb, Bin Mahmoud, Al Sadd, and West Bay in the past months has resulted in a considerable improvement in occupancy levels. Qatar’s upcoming and existing real estate developments are providing a selection of lucrative opportunities for investors. The freehold areas include West Bay Lagoon (66), The Pearl (66), Al Khor Resort (74), Onaiza (63), Al Dafnah (60,61), Fox Hills (69), Lusail (69), and Al Khuraij (69).
