The General Authority for Statistics GASTAT launched the Real Estate Price Index, which is based on registry data available from the Ministry of Justice regarding real estate transactions for the years 2015 and 2016.The Authority acknowledged a decline in real estate prices over the past two years, which was a natural consequence of the downturn that affected all sectors in general.
Real Estate Market Analysis
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) analyzed the real estate market as part of the launch of its Real Estate Price Index. During a workshop held as part of the «Restatex» Eastern Real Estate Exhibition the day before yesterday, GASTAT described the Real Estate Price Index as an important tool to support stakeholders in making economic and statistical decisions regarding real estate price movements and future forecasts over various time periods. The index covers three main sectors consisting of several real estate categories, namely:
- The residential sector: Its categories include land plots, buildings, villas, apartments, and houses.The commercial sector: Its categories include plots of land, buildings, and showrooms, whether they are standalone stores or shopping centers. The agricultural sector: This sector includes a single category: agricultural land.
Decline in real estate prices
The Real Estate Price Index showed a decline in real estate prices in 2016 compared to the previous two years, 2015 and 2014. The index recorded a decline of 6.1% in 2016 compared to 2015, while the decline was 8.5% compared to 2014.
The Real Estate Price Index recorded a decline of 3.5% in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the third quarter, and the index for the fourth quarter of 2016 also recorded a decline of 8.7% compared to the same quarter of 2015.
Decline Across All Sectors
The recently published report attributed the decline in the real estate price index for the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the third quarter of 2016 to declines across all major sectors comprising the index: the commercial sector (-4.11 TP3T), the residential sector (-3.41 TP3T), and the agricultural sector (-0.31 TP3T),The real estate price index for the fourth quarter of 2016 also declined compared to the same period in the previous year (the fourth quarter of 2015), a decline that was also observed across all major sectors comprising the index: Commercial sector 12.3%, Residential sector 7.4%, Agricultural sector 1.1%.
It is worth noting that the «Restatex» Eastern Real Estate Exhibition addressed, during its accompanying workshop program, a panel discussion on the current state and future of the «Wafi» program and the «Itmam» at the Ministry of Housing, with the Secretary-General of the Off-Plan Real Estate Sales Program (Wafi) and General Supervisor of the Developers Service Center (Itmam), Mohammed Al-Ghazwani. The discussion was moderated by Radan bin Sa’faq Al-Duweish, Chair of the Housing Committee at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce.
