Overview of real estate market in Kuwait
Everyone looking to live, work, or open a business in Kuwait needs to get familiar with the real estate market in Kuwait. And, the set of laws and regulations that come with it. After a period of erratic growth, it seems that the last couple of years show signs of significant improvement and stability. It’s a country where the majority of residents and workers are of foreigners, so real estate trends play a big role in their lives. As the new projects are constantly underway, large investments are implemented to supplement for increased demand. Despite the turbulence on the global scale that happening lately, many large and small scale development projects are near completion. And even greater infrastructure programs will probably see the light in incoming years.
Real estate market in Kuwait today
In Kuwait, you can roughly split the real estate market into two broad groups. Depending on the needs and interests, we can separately observe the residential or commercial real estate.
Those interested in moving to Kuwait can easily find the appropriate accommodation. All you need is Easy Move KW or a similarly experienced company to handle your residential transition. There are many available options in:
- private residential housing for Kuwaiti and GCC citizens
- short and long term rental options for ex-pats
As for commercial real estate, it can be a bit different. Even though there are many commercial hot-spots and desirable property, the prices fluctuate depending on various factors. The overall economic situation, price of oil, the latest events, trends, and other elements are just part of it. To get the best, you will need to carefully choose the best opportunity and timing for investment.
Is the real estate market in Kuwait on the rise or it’s slowing down?
Since 2018, Kuwait experiences significant growth in the real estate sector. That trend continues in 2019, but slightly slower than a year before. However, that doesn’t mean there are, and there will be, less investment and commercial property sales in the future. From 1.8m residents two decades ago to 4.8m people in 2019, it’s obvious that demand and supply are constantly increasing. For this reason, various projects are on the way. The government is doing its best to expand the development in this sector. In addition, the influx of new property will lead to lower prices in the future. So, yes, the real estate market in Kuwait is definitely on the rise. And unless something drastically changes, it will continue to do so.
Real estate sector trends
Now, let’s take a look at those two broader groups in more detail.
Residential trends
The Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) is pushing forward the residential property development in the long-term. Usually, you can find three major programs to stimulate the construction or buying of residential real estate:
- program to build a house or the apartment with a minimum of 4,300 sq-feet on a plot of land.
- 4,300 sq-feet plot of land with an available loan of $231,000 from the Kuwait Credit Bank for financing the construction.
- buy or build a house or apartment with a minimum area of 3,875 sq-feet with an interest-free loan from the KCB.
Even though there is a slight increase in the price of some residential options lately, it’s not necessarily a rule of thumb. There are still areas where you can find cheaper accommodation. In fact, if you plan to deal with the process of moving this year, it might be a good time to start exploring and hunting for your future housing right now.
Commercial trends
As for the commercial real estate, it’s especially active development in more urban areas like downtowns. Particularly in the office development sector and commercial property lease. The number of commercial transactions and sales dropped by a percentage in quantity, but it increases in quality. In other words, less property is sold but they are more valuable and expensive properties. For example, the Al-Mubarakiyah area sold 3,500 sq-feet of commercial property for the sum of approximately $11,500,000.
International companies and investment
Kuwaiti and foreigners don’t have the same privilege when it comes to owning a property. Even though it’s slowly changing, ownership of land was restricted to Kuwaiti citizens only for years. But, the situation is a bit different when it comes to construction and development. International firms are majorly oriented toward different types of rental properties. That includes both residential rentals and commercial property. It was necessary to ease the regulations to successfully deal with the real estate supply and demand situation in Kuwait. Now, you have many more options to find a luxury property in the centers and much cheaper counterparts on the periphery.
Vision 2035
This is one of the major projects to transform Kuwait into a world-class center for business and finance. Furthermore, a significant amount of investment is planned to achieve this vision. As part of the vision, the major port in the Middle East will be there, a new airport, extraordinary infrastructure, and a business-oriented environment. Today, Kuwait is still greatly dependent on the oil industry. But, it will change in the future with more projects like this one. Innovation, creativity, self-sustainability, and increased productivity will provide balanced economic progress and human development in years to come.
In general, you might say that a lot is going on in Kuwait. The constant development and investment, future plans and implementations, everything toward progress. If you look at the overview of the real estate market in Kuwait at any time, you can notice some large project development undergoing. The real estate market in Kuwait is essentially fertile soil for investment in both commercial and residential aspects. It will also lead to some long-term changes in the future. The country sees it, and it’s seizing the opportunity to economically step away from depending on oil. Overall, this plan focuses on infrastructure importance to support the transport, logistics, habitat, health, and general quality of life. For all current and future residents.
Lisa Roberts has been engaged in writing blog articles for the last 7 years. Although she started off her career in the moving industry, her experience brought diversification to the content topics she covers. Today, her range of topics spans from moving across the globe to everyday lifestyle tips, marketing, real-estate news, etc. In her spare time, Lisa enjoys running, reading books and spending time with her dogs Lue and Sill. As a great lover of life, she finds something practical and useful in every experience, which contributes to her portfolio as well.