Real Estate

Implications of COVID-19 on GCC Asset Classes

COVID-19 has rendered economic outlook and companies’ performance projections for 2020 meaningless in a single stroke. Heightened uncertainty has become an everyday reality in the current times. As the coronavirus scare continues, the world is faced with multidimensional issues and tough questions, be it finding an effective treatment for the virus, zeroing in on an optimal quantum of stimulus or deciding the right time to lift lockdowns. With measures like social distancing and lockdowns affecting day-to-day lives of people, asset...

Impact of Covid-19 on GCC REITs

The GCC has seen a number of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) listed in stock exchanges in the past few years. This accelerated after Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) approved the listing of REITs in 2016 as a part of the National Transformation Program (NTP) and Saudi Vision 2030. Due to the economic crisis in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, many of the listed REITs have seen a steep decline in their share prices and market capitalisations. Saudi...

How Inflationary is VAT in the GCC?

The residents of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who had long enjoyed a tax-free existence, were finally subject to a Value Added Tax of 5% on goods and services, from Jan 1st 2018. The introduction of VAT, which is seen as one of the biggest policy shifts in recent times across the region, is expected to bring in additional revenue to the respective governments. VAT being a consumption based tax, will have implications on customer spending as well as inflation....

Autonomous Vehicles – How will they transform the GCC Real Estate Sector?

The transport industry is on the cusp of another major breakthrough as Autonomous vehicles are expected not only to revolutionize the way we travel, but also the way we live. Billions of dollars have already been invested in pioneering the technology as well as equipping infrastructure to support it. Going by the trends, self-driven cars may soon be a common sight on roads in the near future. This disruptive change, which is expected to be a milestone for the auto...

Brexit: Impact on GCC Investments in Britain

GCC Investors have flocked into British Real Estate Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) & private investors from gulf, particularly Qatar, Kuwait, KSA and UAE, have purchased prolific properties in Britain, largely in London. Indeed, a part of London is referred to as ‘Qatar Quarter’ due to the sizeable investments made by Qataris. London-based Rokstone estate agent estimates that Qataris own property worth more than one billion pounds (USD 1.34mn) in Mayfair, one of London's richest areas. Quantum of Investments Total investments...

Saudi Arabia: Mortgages enter housing market

The landscape of Saudi Arabia’s real estate market is set to change with the ushering in of a slew of mortgage laws. However, things were challenging before the law, and the following data tells us exactly why.   Suppose, you are 20-something and draw SAR 6500-7700 a month. In that case, for two reasons, you will not be able to afford a decent home. One, the down payment for the house is approximately 14 months of your salary. If you...