Bahrain’s property market is showing signs of recovery after commercial land prices dropped by 20 to 30 per cent last year, it was claimed.
Residential land prices also fell by up to 15 per cent, Bahrain International Property Exhibition 2009 (Bipex 2009) chairman Mohammed Khalil Al Sayed said.
He told our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News that although the market was recovering from the global downturn, it would be a long time before another boom similar to those seen in 2006 and 2007.
Al Sayed said there were signs of an upturn in the final quarter of the year and predicted that would continue into 2010.
Al Sayed, who is also Ithmaar Development Company chief executive officer, said that in the past year land prices in the kingdom have fallen by as much as 20 to 30 per cent for commercial developments in areas like Seef and Jufair.
Residential land costs in areas like Saar had fallen by between 10 per cent and 15 per cent last year.
But, unlike elsewhere in the region no developments were abandoned in Bahrain.
But he warned that this would be a steady recovery and not a return to a booming real estate market.
‘We believe the worst is over and the real estate market is now starting to pick up,’ he said.
‘More than 80 per cent of the exhibition space for Bipex 2009 has been sold out which means this year’s event will be as big as last year’s, in spite of the downturn. This is particularly positive for Bahrain as similar property events elsewhere in the region have seen participation fall by as much as 40 per cent.
‘That is clearly a sign of the resilience of the Bahrain real estate market.’
