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Saudi Arabia’s property market is showing signs of a post-Covid recovery on the back of a broader increase in business activity in the kingdom.
The residential market is benefitting from a number of factors including a recent decision to exempt property transactions from the 15 per cent value added tax rate and a booming mortgage market, consultancy Knight Frank said in its
Saudi Arabia Real Estate Market Review.
“The overall improvement in business confidence and market sentiment has led to a surge in residential mortgage loans, which rose by 38 per cent in the 12 months to the end of February,” said Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at Knight Frank.
Dubai’s property market, which softened amid oversupply concerns and a coronavirus-induced economic slowdown, is bouncing back this year.
Concerted efforts by the government to stimulate economic activity and its world-leading vaccination programme has begun to “instil confidence in the market”, which saw average property values rising 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, the strongest growth since the summer of 2016, Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at Knight Frank, said.
The luxury rental market in Dubai, however, has remained stable with rents in the top segment declining only 0.5 per cent year on year at the end of the first quarter.
Sultanate’s real estate market to stabilise in 2018
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Oman’s GDP growth is expected to rise to 5.2 per cent next year, aided by the introduction of natural gas production at the Khazzan gas field and the opening of the new airport in Muscat. This will mark the strongest rate of expansion since 2015 and, in turn, should filter down to help steady the country’s property market, according to leading international real estate consultancy, Cluttons.
The Cluttons Muscat Winter 2017/18 Property Market Outlook indicates that Oman’s economy, like many of its Gulf neighbours, is still working its way through a challenging period, triggered by the shock collapse in oil prices in 2014. The country, however, is embarking on a journey to wean itself off its dependence on oil revenues through diversification efforts and positive government intervention.
Global companies to reinvent the office
DUBAI, 6 hours, 26 minutes ago International businesses are looking to their workplaces to revitalise corporate brand and culture after the pandemic, which will see significantly improved amenities and services available for employees, according to the latest research from Knight Frank. Knight Frank’s second edition of its (Y)OUR SPACE report draws on responses from almost 400 international businesses with a combined headcount in excess of 10 million, providing unique insight into the workplace strategies and real estate needs of global companies. As firms begin to look beyond the pandemic, with vaccine rollouts providing a roadmap to measures being eased around the world, they are evaluating the experience of the past year and how to enhance their workplaces for the future.