Kuwaiti real estate sales rose 41 percent in the year to November, on high sales of residential and commercial property, official data showed on Monday.
Sales in the Gulf Arab state rose to 193.15 million dinars ($672.6 million) from 137.01 million dinars in November 2008, the data showed.
Residential property deals, which represent the biggest portion of total real estate transactions, were up 36 percent to 87.56 million dinars, compared to 64.38 million dinars a year earlier.
Property sales, especially residential units, had been falling since the government placed restrictions in 2008 barring private firms from trading in existing houses to prevent unjustified increases in prices.
The real estate market is expected to strengthen further in 2010 after it saw a gradual recovery in the second half of 2009, National Bank of Kuwait said in a research note in October.
Investment property sales rose 1.1 percent to 66.74 million dinars, while commercial property rose almost six times to 38.85 million dinars in November, compared with the same month a year earlier.
In October, real estate sales soared 52.6 percent year-on-year, the data showed. (Reuters)
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