GCC property overpriced

by Amy Glass Wednesday, 16 April 2008

The overwhelming majority of property investors believe real estate within the GCC is overpriced, according to the ArabianBusiness.com Property Survey 2008.

Data from the annual study revealed 45.31% of respondents believe property prices are far too expensive, while 42.78% said prices are moderately overpriced.

Only 10% of survey participants feel prices are fair and only 1.83% believed prices are low, the survey found.
Qatar has the highest percentage of people that think property is far too expensive, at 52%, followed by Oman (51%), Saudi Arabia (48%), the UAE (45%), Kuwait (43.5%) and Bahrain (43.2%), according to the survey.

Kuwait has the highest percentage of people that think prices are low, at 6.5%, followed by Bahrain (4%), Qatar (4.2%) and Saudi Arabia (2.6%). Not one of those polled in Oman and less than 2% of respondents from the UAE feel prices are low.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had by far the largest percentage of people that think property prices are fair, with 17.5% and 13.3% respectively.

Housing and rental costs have soaring in the region over the past couple of years, fuelled by a supply shortfall and rising labour and raw material costs.

Rocketing prices have been blamed on driving inflation to record levels across much of the Gulf.

Despite most GCC buyers thinking prices are expensive, the survey found investors would to continue to purchase property in the region.

The survey also revealed that more people buy property in the GCC as an investment than for any other reason, believing the market wills continues its bullish trend and offer buyers huge returns on their investments.



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