Qatar Real Estate Report Q3 2012

BMIs Qatar real estate report examines growth opportunities and risks in this fast-growing Gulf market. Our 2012 forecasts see a 5-10% rise in rents in the office, retail and industrial rental segments of our three surveyed cities: Doha, Al-Khor and Al-Wakra. The Qatari industrial sub-sector is limited by the shift away from rentals and towards direct development. Qatars office and retail segments are growing fast and present bullish medium-term prospects, despite the fact that 2011 saw large falls in rental rates in these segments, particularly in Doha. The tourism sector presents significant growth potential, despite its nascent stage, suggesting that the retail segment will be less likely to suffer from oversupply than the office segment.

Qatar has not seen as spectacular a real estate bubble as the UAE, its eastern neighbour. Consequently, it has not had to deal with the challenges of government bailouts and risks of bondholder losses. The Qatari real estate sector features both state-backed and private sector players, with the state-backed Qatari Diar essentially an arm of Qatari foreign investment strategy. As Qatar looks to diversify its economy and shift its reliance away from the hydrocarbons sector, real estate could be well placed to benefit from diversifying investments.

The 2022 World Cup presents an obvious bonanza for the sector, although it stands to reason that much growth will be organic Qatari demand, as flows of retail-minded tourists are more likely to be directed to the UAE (primarily Dubai). Despite our in-country sources having limited information on vacancy rates, it is clear that the current effect of hosting the 2022 World Cup is an increase in demand. This, together with tougher lending conditions slowing development projects, should help take up some of the supply in the short term.

Given that native citizens enjoy one of the worlds highest per-capita incomes, Qatar has not seen any political unrest inspired by the uprisings seen across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The risks of terrorist attacks are also considered low. However, the risk of conflict between the pro-US Gulf states and Iran remains a concern. Qatar hosts US military forces on its soil and has taken an activist role in regional conflicts such as in Libya, Syria and Bahrain.

The price of this business forecast report covers 4 quarterly reports on this country. This quarterly report will be downloadable instantly as a PDF document, with the 3 remaining reports delivered at regular intervals throughout the year.