Akif Saghir
Director of Professional Services
Century 21
Qatar is a small but dynamic and a growing country, the real estate market in Qatar has been booming in recent years and is one of the most important sectors of its economy. Recent years have seen a significant increase in investment in the country, as well as an increase in the number and value of transactions being carried out. Investors have been eager to get a piece of the action as FIFA 2022 gets closer, but many investors especially international investors are hesitant by the lack of transaction data transparency with a significant concern when it comes to detailed data on real estate transactions.
Currently, there is limited amount of data available for the public and the consultants need to carry out detailed investigations using factors and parameters of a comparable transacted property, including type and details of the transacted property and how much was the transaction value for it. This limited transparency means that it is difficult to assess the true value of a property or similar properties, which can make it difficult for buyers and sellers to know what is happening.
This relatively amplified level of opacity also provides bases for speculation and exposes the advisory consultants who rely on limited available information to provide advisory services at a higher risk of misleading their clients.
Access to details on transactions provides a level of transparency that is somewhat limited for international investors in Qatar’s real estate market. By setting up a platform where transaction data is available to all participants or subscribers to such data; levels the playing field and allows strategic consultants who provide their services to buyers and sellers in making informed decisions.
Safeguarding consultants, who provide advisory services are crucial to ensure that completed transactions are conducted within an arm’s length and given ample time to achieve fair value for the properties. With a similar system in place, consultants can more easily monitor market activity and advise their clients accordingly.
It has been observed among other nations where transparency is limited, it sometimes leads to overvaluing the properties and other assets which may affect the financial and insurance institutions and potentially create room for other problems such as investor’s low-confidence, which can ultimately harm the economy.
The real estate market in Qatar is seeing an increase in transparency, thanks to new initiatives that are collecting and making transaction data more accessible. Qatar has been working hard to increase transparency in its real estate market in order to attract more foreign investment and help its economy grow. This is good news for the investors and the economy, as greater transparency helps to attract investment and encourage economic growth.
Until that time, consultants who are new in the market need to be intensively vigilant and use their professional network and in-house transaction data to gather relevant data to execute their advisory services reliably. Century 21 Qatar is a trusted brokerage and advisory firm having more than a decade of valuations and advisory services for plant, machinery, property and business assets which are backed by transactions through their RICS registered valuers. We serve developers, investors, and bluechip companies with strategic advisory within Qatar, the Middle East, and other parts of the world through our global network of 86 countries.
This article was published as part of the eighth edition of Property Finder Qatar’s Trends Report.
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