Buoyed by a massive Covid-19 vaccination programme and a successful campaign to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country, investors and major stakeholders have a positive outlook for Qatar’s real estate sector, a Doha-based industry expert said.
Joseph Rivera, the chairman of the Association of Filipino Realtors & Entrepreneur Executives in Qatar (Afreeq), said Qatar's property market, including domestic and international real estate investments, is improving as confidence of investors in buying is making a comeback.
“With daily cases now falling below 150, I have no doubts that the market activity in Qatar’s real estate sector would now return alongside our physical health stability,” Rivera told Gulf Times on Friday.
“The building and buying appetite in the property market may have slightly slowed down in the past year, but we are now seeing a lot of optimism and positivity among investors and stakeholders,” he continued.
Rivera noted that market activity in the real estate sector “is expected to pick-up in the coming period” despite new variants of the coronavirus, as well as ongoing protocols to limit the spread of Covid-19.
He also said the easing of travel restrictions and the influx of newly-hired expatriates from abroad would be a welcome development in the residential segment, considering that job generation is expected to pick up in Qatar in the run-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“For as long as Qatar’s existing health protocols remain strictly enforced, I’m confident that the country’s excellent health system would be able to handle the latest variants even with the opening of borders to more migrants and visitors as we get closer to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“Even this early, brand-new apartments and villa compounds are starting to fill up as we start to see more newly-arrived expatriates looking for housing accommodations. This scenario is also reflected in the international property scene as more and more developers from countries, such as the US, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, and not just from the Philippines have started being aggressive again in marketing their outbound property offerings to both existing and new residents here in Doha,” Rivera stressed.
Rivera, who is also one of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (PEZA) accredited investment promotions partners, pointed out that Qatar’s initiatives against the Covid-19 pandemic not only helped stimulate the domestic property market but has also enticed international real estate companies to venture here.
“More and more clients from both the leasing and selling sectors in Qatar's real estate scene have been more aggressive lately with the patronage of properties with premium value as compared to those that have just been making lateral movements, if not downgrading in the past year.
“Office spaces have started to move again, while prime commercial leasing prices remained above average. I believe this is also one of the main reasons that a major developer in the Philippines has chosen Qatar as its hub in offering its industrial and commercial investment opportunities to the Middle East, African, European, and Asian markets,” Rivera explained.
Joseph Rivera, the chairman of the Association of Filipino Realtors & Entrepreneur Executives in Qatar (Afreeq), said Qatar's property market, including domestic and international real estate investments, is improving as confidence of investors in buying is making a comeback.
“With daily cases now falling below 150, I have no doubts that the market activity in Qatar’s real estate sector would now return alongside our physical health stability,” Rivera told Gulf Times on Friday.
“The building and buying appetite in the property market may have slightly slowed down in the past year, but we are now seeing a lot of optimism and positivity among investors and stakeholders,” he continued.
Rivera noted that market activity in the real estate sector “is expected to pick-up in the coming period” despite new variants of the coronavirus, as well as ongoing protocols to limit the spread of Covid-19.
He also said the easing of travel restrictions and the influx of newly-hired expatriates from abroad would be a welcome development in the residential segment, considering that job generation is expected to pick up in Qatar in the run-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“For as long as Qatar’s existing health protocols remain strictly enforced, I’m confident that the country’s excellent health system would be able to handle the latest variants even with the opening of borders to more migrants and visitors as we get closer to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“Even this early, brand-new apartments and villa compounds are starting to fill up as we start to see more newly-arrived expatriates looking for housing accommodations. This scenario is also reflected in the international property scene as more and more developers from countries, such as the US, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, and not just from the Philippines have started being aggressive again in marketing their outbound property offerings to both existing and new residents here in Doha,” Rivera stressed.
Rivera, who is also one of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (PEZA) accredited investment promotions partners, pointed out that Qatar’s initiatives against the Covid-19 pandemic not only helped stimulate the domestic property market but has also enticed international real estate companies to venture here.
“More and more clients from both the leasing and selling sectors in Qatar's real estate scene have been more aggressive lately with the patronage of properties with premium value as compared to those that have just been making lateral movements, if not downgrading in the past year.
“Office spaces have started to move again, while prime commercial leasing prices remained above average. I believe this is also one of the main reasons that a major developer in the Philippines has chosen Qatar as its hub in offering its industrial and commercial investment opportunities to the Middle East, African, European, and Asian markets,” Rivera explained.
