Qatar's 2022 World Cup Announcement Impacts Local Property Markets

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(DOHA, QATAR) -- The immediate impact of FIFA's decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is more confidence in the local property market, with the volume of sales and leasing enquiries increasing, according to the latest data from Asteco Property Management.

"Investors in the property market are likely to observe caution by seeking long-term investment rather than short-term speculation. However, although it is too early to gauge the real impact on demand and prices, the market has received a boost in confidence as a result of Qatar's successful bid," said Jed Wolfe, Regional Director, at Asteco Property Management's office in Doha. 

Other than the excitement around the winning FIFA World Cup bid, the Qatar Report Q4 2010 revealed a lack-lustre market performance with subdued activity. One bright spot was in the more established areas of Al Saad and Bin Mahmoud which continued to show signs of stabilization with a slight rise in the average price of one bedroom units from Q3 at $1340 and $1168 per month respectively.

At newer property developments such as The Pearl Qatar rental price declined only slightly, another clear sign of recovery. "A gradual increase in demand was recorded after Ramadan and Eid as existing tenants living in the capital were taking advantage of more competitive rents being offered in different parts of Doha, including the Pearl," says the report.

Overall rents for residential villas in Qatar suffered another slight decline in Q4 2010, especially for the larger five-bedroom villas, due to an increased supply of villa compounds. This dynamic was identified in Q3, when Qatar's villa market was about to undergo a restructure following a new law that restricts villas from being used as commercial premises, which has resulted in oversupply. Accordingly, residential sales fell between 3 percent and 6 percent with few transactions taking place in Q4.

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