Qatar rents predicted to plummet by 2011 - expert

Rental market prices in Qatar are in for a battering over the next two years due to an oversupply of accommodation, a leading real estate investment expert has said.

Nasser Mohamed Al Mansoory, CEO of listed-company Qatar Oman Investment Company said there were currently 15,000 apartments ready for occupancy across Doha with no takers.

And with many housing projects in and around the city which are coming up and expected to be ready for uptake by next year, the situation is set to get worse, he told The Peninsula in comments published on Monday.

He told the paper: “I wouldn’t be surprised if over the next two years (by 2010-11) you see the rents in Doha back to their previous levels to QR1,200 ($330) and QR1,400 monthly.”

Already, two-bedroom apartments whose going rates were QR8,000 not too long ago, are now available for QR5,000, he said.

“See the newspapers. Their classifieds are full of ads for all categories of vacant houses day in and day out, clearly signaling that supplies far exceed demand,” he added.

He claimed the population of the country had fallen from 1.9 million to around 1.6 million.

“These are the latest figures. So, with so many people having left, where do you think the demand is going to come from,” said Al Mansoory.

He said there was a similar situation with office space with supplies outstripping demand.