Explore-Qatar » Articles » Qatar Today Editorials - Qatar: A hot piece of real estate
Qatar Today Editorials - Qatar: A hot piece of real estate
The Qatar market is fairly ardent and raring to meet the demands of housing.
This new surge in the real estate market could be attributed to the decree issued by Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani that allows non-Qataris to own residential properties in some housing projects.
The law, Number 17 of 2004, has been issued after reviewing a set of relevant legislations passed since 1963 governing rent and real estate in Qatar.
The law allows non-Qataris to buy and own real estate in select areas in Qatar and they include the proposed Pearl Island, West Bay Lagoon and Al Khor Resort projects. Non-Qatari buyers could own real estate at the above three locations for 99-years and the period would be extendable for a similar period (99 years), according to Article 4. Non-Qatari buyers could own one or more residential units in the above residential complexes on a 99-year basis, which would be extendable for another 99 years, says Article 5. Article 1 of the law also confers rights on other GCC nationals to buy and own properties in areas as specified by the cabinet and subject to conditions put forth by it. Buyers in a complex would be allowed to form cooperative society of which they would be members. A property bought and owned by a non-Qatari would be transferable to his legal heir or heirs.
The Pearl Qatar is Qatar’s first international real estate venture, the largest real estate development in the country and the first to offer freehold and residential rights to international investors. The US $2.5 billion offshore, Riviera-style man-made island, covering 985 acres of reclaimed land will create over 30 kilometres of new coastline.
According to the company statistics, The Pearl-Qatar will eventually house 35,000 residents in an up-scale, multi-cultural residential community that will be a secure and exclusive island retreat. The Pearl-Qatar is being built 350 meters offshore the West Bay Lagoon and is being developed and promoted by United Development Company (UDC), Qatar’s largest private sector shareholding company.
The Land, an investment-oriented company with the mission of planning, investing and establishing projects in Jordan, Bahrain and the UAE has recently announced its involvement in the Pearl. The Land has bought a spacious segment of the Porto Arabia, which will be a huge part of the Pearl-Qatar. Porto Arabia aspires to be “A delicate cocktail of commerce and community within the warm waters of the Arabian Gulf - a marine splendour.”
Sabban Property Investments has also announced the launch of their premium residential towers within the Porto Arabia of the Pearl, Qatar. Sabban Property Investment is a Gulf based family owned real estate development comprising of diverse industries — property investment, hotels, hospitality, construction, furniture, tourism and car parking management. With so many new participants the Real Estate industry is also gearing up to meet the challenges of this globalisation with speculations of international real estate agencies Re/Max going to enter Qatar market.
According to renowned Qatari architect Ibrahim Jaidah, “The income has increased and there is demand for higher standard of buildings as people can afford them. With international names in real estate like Remax coming in, there is a boom in the industry. The advantage here is that these companies can also identify ‘quality’ in construction and amenities thus setting and raising standards in the construction industry.”
“Everyone is finally realising that Qatar is a great investment opportunity. This is not only due to the Emiri decree but it is also relative to the growth of infrastructure inside the country,” says Nick Bashkiroff, Development Director of The Pearl.
“There are a lot more developers entering into the foray in Qatar in our project, which is the biggest of its kind. But you will have to wait and see, as I cannot divulge onto names at this stage...”
“The Land has been in business for around 25 years, Real estate has been part of the business of the company, but under a different name. The Land was developed for the Qatari market; we have rebranded our self and here we will start with a fresh slate but one backed by experience in this field,” says Roland Khaliffe, Marketing Manager of The Land at the Real Estate Exhibition held at the International Exhibition Centre at Doha.
“Qatar has huge potential and with the policy of the country, there is a safe market here and the infrastructure is also keeping up with the huge growth of the country. The Pearl-Qatar is the most appealing project. We have bought land in the Pearl for eight towers. It will be in Porto Arabia as this is the only marina where boats can go in. The country is giving Perpetuity Freehold Right for those who are buying property here and so that is also appealing for any investor,” says Khaliffe.
During the launch of the Sabban Property Investments’ latest project in Qatar, the Marketing Manager, Arron Browne talks about their latest venture. “Sabban Property Investments made a foray into the Middle East in mid 2004. But we were then aware of the developments in Qatar and wanted to become a part of the market at the earliest instance. The investment is tender in Qatar. There is a guideline set by the The Pearl with time frames and designs too; hence we are looking at a local based construction company who will be able to carry forward our designs fast and within stipulated timeframes. The external architectural features and the layout of the structures will follow the same design philosophy predetermined by Pearl. But what sets us apart is that there will be a podium, which will house all our three residential towers. This tower cluster will be unique of its own, with a total area of 19,661 sq mts with 400 apartments and an additional recreation area of 6,115.21 sq mts. This will be like a community of its own,” says Browne.
Bahrain has also initiated a project of this magnitude, an island reconstructed like the Pearl, but then why decide to invest and develop in Qatar, why not in Bahrain? “The statistics of the country speaks for itself, the GDP growth, well, Qatar is the place to be in, right now,” say the developers.
“We have projects in Saudi Arabia, in Bahrain and also in Abu Dhabi- some are contracting works, it is not buildings of our own, we will be buying buildings and leasing them out,” says Khaliffe of The Land.
“We purchased a few properties and developed it — some properties on the Marina, the Burj Dubai area. Though the property development part of Sabban is just two years, the Sabban Group of companies has been there for nearly 20 years- furniture stores and projects in Cairo. We have actually not developed any buildings in Dubai-we have just invested in properties that were already there in UAE. Hence we are more interested in the Qatar project as this will give us the opportunity to develop the project as well. In Dubai we are mostly selling the projects to locals and we are planning to let out one of our projects to holiday purposes, we are toying with the idea,” says Browne.
Comparing the two real estate markets, Dubai and Qatar, Browne feels that Dubai has a fierce pace of its own. “This pace would at times be almost daunting and it scares investors because of its fast pace. But the market in Qatar is still nascent; the fervor here is very controlled and organised. Qatar is also retaining its heritage and culture in most of its building.”
“We have just started the sale procedures, but we have already sold some apartments to close associates and we hope to accomplish around 50 percent sales by the time the structure comes up,” believes Khaliffe of The Land. The Sabban have just launched the project but they too have a very positive feel of the market as interested parties have already contacted them and talks have been initiated.
The Dar Investment and Development is another Qatari company with two major projects in Qatari – the Lagoon Plaza and the Palm Tower of which the sale of Lagoon has already been launched. They have already sold around 50- 60 percent of the Lagoon, with the construction work underway; the piling work is almost complete. All the three companies have huge plans of real-estate development in Qatar, with Dar specifying that, “What we have begun is less than five percent of what we intend to do in Qatar,” says Mohamed Atatreh, Vice CEO of Dar
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