The eighth edition of Cityscape Qatar will be inaugurated on Tuesday in the presence and under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani.
The three-day show will run at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC) with exhibitors from eight nations offering up new-to-market second-home and investment opportunities, as well as project unveils.
Exhibitors from the Middle East, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, and North Africa will vie for buyer and investor interest with Tunisia, for the first time, mounting a dedicated country pavilion.
“There’s a wide scope of ground-floor opportunities on offer from overseas developers but also a sizeable presence from the local market, including all of the biggest names and the planned launch of Qatar’s future landmark destination,” said Carlo Schembri, exhibition director.
The show will also host an array of project unveilings, including that of Qatar’s future iconic destination Qetaifan Island North, which will house a mix of entertainment, residential, hospitality, and retail investment opportunities. Overseas launches include Florens Lake Resort & Spa at Interlaken in Switzerland.
Cityscape Qatar, which, for the first time, will run alongside Index Qatar, is organised by Informa Markets and Elan Group. The event will also feature a high-powered opening day conference and the highly-popular Cityscape Talks series, which will run from October 23 and 24.
Conference delegates will get a multi-sector overview of Qatar’s current real estate market and expert insights from ValuStrat into the gross yields within its residential sector. The overview will cover the entire property spectrum including residential, commercial, office, retail, hospitality and industrial.
The conference, featuring high-level presentations and expert panel discussions, has been designed for institutional investors, private, family, and semi-government officers and C-level executives from the real estate, finance, legal, and associated sectors. The free-to-attend Cityscape Talks will feature presentations covering a range of themes from maximising real estate investment, to market trends.
“Cityscape Talks are a platform to learn about the opportunities available at the exhibition, enabling visitors to make more informed investment decisions. There will also be talks on key themes for real estate brokers, architects, engineers, and other professionals.
“Attendees will be able to exchange ideas with like-minded colleagues looking to develop their skills within their respective industries and establish closer links with the main bodies governing each professional domain,” said Schembri.
Cityscape Qatar 2019 is set against a backdrop of pro-active public and finance sector initiatives to spur the market. These include the recently-released freehold zones law, which increased the number of freehold zones, allowed non-Qataris to own freehold property, enabled 100% foreign ownership, and 100% repatriation of profits across all sectors.
Qatari banks have begun offering attractive interest rates to encourage home ownership, while developers are now offering payment plans over three to five-year periods for off-plan and built properties in The Pearl-Qatar and Lusail.
