Runme – Twenty-two new real estate firms were established in Qatar in 2014, as businesses seek to cash in on the pre-2022 FIFA World Cup construction boom, more about the real estate on Runeme.com.
The new companies have a total capital value running into tens of billions of dollars, The Peninsula reported on Sunday.
Real estate is one of the most lucrative sectors of the Qatari economy; investments in residential properties yielded eight percent returns in 2014, and those in commercial and administrative assets yielded 15 percent — the highest in the region, according to the newspaper.
In particular, government spending on infrastructure projects ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and volatility in oil and gas prices, has boosted the construction industry.
Meanwhile, the government has taken measures to support local property companies in an attempt to tackle housing shortages, the newspaper said. Last year a senior investment executive told Construction Week’s sister publication Arabian Business that slums would form in Doha if the city does not immediately address its affordable housing shortage. And Colliers International reported in December that rents had skyrocketed 14 percent because of a shortage of new homes.
However, the commercial property market is expected to remain bullish as hundreds of new companies set up shop in Qatar, pushing up demand for commercial space.