House rents in Qatar have fallen by 25 to 30 percent over the past eight months and a further downslide is expected during this summer, say real estate industry sources. With the onset of summer, the property market has been witnessing a lull as potential customers as well as landlords are delaying business deals. Customers are anticipating a further fall in the prices while the landlords are looking for an increase in demand after the summer is over. But none would dispute that rents have significantly fallen. Industry experts attribute this to a combination of factors, including an increse in the supply of housing units with completion of several building projects across the country. “We are now literally struggling to rent out many of our properties. For instance, an apartment which was rented out at QR10,000 per month last year is now being offered at QR7,000 but still there are no takers,” lamented an official from a leading real estate agency. He said many landlords have been forced to reduce rents as tenants are shifting houses in an attempt to lap up cheaper and better options. For the landlord, the only way to hold the customers is to reduce the rentals. The market has thus become highly competitive to the benefit of the customers. According to Faleh Matar, General Manager of Al Dar Real Estate Company, prices in the market are stabilising. “A medium size villa which used to be rented out at QR15,000 to QR25,000 some months ago is now available at QR10,000 to QR15,000 per month. An acceptable scenario is taking shape where a two-bed room apartment is available at QR4,500 and a three-bed room facility would be priced QR5,500 per month,” said Matar, in comments to Al Sharq daily. He said the falling prices of construction materials is another factor contributing to a fall in house rents. The affordable housing units of the Barwa Real Estate company also had a significant impact on the market, he added. “The prices are expected to stabilise in the next six months with many more projects which are now under construction getting ready by that time,” added Matar. He also noted that the “floating tenants” would eventually force the landlords to reduce the prices for fear of losing customers. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=June2009&file=Local_News2009062971427.xml

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