THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON THE QATARI HOUSING MARKET


Abdulla Rashed AlGhafri
Owner
QQQ Real Estate

Recent years have indeed demonstrated a significant increase in housing prices in Qatar, especially with the efforts that have made Qatar one of the most touristic and investment prone destinations in the Gulf. Such a tendency has affected the real estate market along with the establishment of new cities that are on par with international locations, such as The Pearl, West Bay and most recently, Lusail, with these three areas being some of the most popular locations for people who would like to invest in real estate and receive a permanent residency in Qatar.

The real estate market survived two major consecutive phenomena; the first was the blockade imposed by some countries in the region, and the second being the battle of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still taking place, with the assumption of many analysts that the property market will gain stability this year.

One of the ways that I have used my platform is to educate the public about the optimistic benefits of investment and well-structured projects. At QQQ Real Estate,  we strongly believe that the situation of the property market will improve after we have controlled the pandemic, especially with the occurrence of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and the Qatar National Vision of 2030 that sets its pillars on building a modern country to be a future destination of investment.

The risks of an increase in property prices are not limited to Qatar, but applies to internal markets as well, such as in The United Kingdom, France and Turkey as well as other countries, where the annual price growth is constantly increased by at least 3 percent. Additionally, prices did not explicitly show that this is only targeting overvalued properties, but also the standard of building, the upcoming vision of the market and also the return on investment. These are just some of the reasons why I believe that investing in Qatar will be fruitful, even during the ongoing pandemic, as the sector offers stability and growing returns compared to the price trajectory of a residential investment.

While the risks are still present in all countries before, during or even after the pandemic, with health concerns, instructions to the public to stay at home, fewer people are willing to think about buying or investing. Alternatively, there is also an awareness between some investors who evaluate the risks, and create opportunities even in the most trying times. As an example, the General Manager of QQQ group Khalaf Alidmat, who is also a very active influencer on social media platforms, has assumed the role where he continuously pushes his audience to be optimistic, while evaluating the risk involved in any investment. One of the things we always communicate to our clients is to look at each step separately, and analyse any challenges or obstacles that we can predict.

Typically, if there is a decline in demand for new properties, sales shall be categorised by a drop in prices which is not the case in Qatar. Real estate activity depends mainly on local conditions and by comparing Qatar to other countries, the situation locally is much steadier when it comes to the real estate market.

This article was published as part of the seventh edition of Property Finder Qatar’s Trends Report.

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