Qatar house prices to fall 10% in 2009 - Colliers

House prices in Qatar are expected to ease 10 percent in 2009 but a stable economic outlook and rising population in the Gulf state due to the expansion of energy production facilities are likely to cap further falls.

"We believe that the prices will not drop significantly, however there will be a slight correction," Reg Barichievey, general manager at property consultant Colliers International in Qatar told Reuters in an e-mailed statement. "The impact of the global turmoil has caused liquidity to dry up which has resulted in slow downs and cancellations of developers and a lack of finance for potential purchasers."

Prices fell around 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the first quarterly decline during the year, he said.

The report comes on the back of a similar report by Global Investment House. Qatar’s real estate sector is showing signs of correcting as analysts predict slower economic growth amid lower oil prices and the global financial crisis, it said.

Colliers had not seen any fall in rents of residential property while office rents fell 10-15 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, he said.

Official figures released earlier on Thursday show that the rental index of the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas gained 13.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier.

Residential rental rates in the country may decline about 10 percent in 2009 as the economy slows on the back of falling oil prices, Global Investment House said on Wednesday.

Its said it expected the contribution of the real estate sector to ease to 9.7 percent of GDP from 10.7 percent estimated for 2008. (Reuters)