Qatar - Housing Shortage Turns To Over-Supply.

A significant milestone in Qatar's real estate sector was reached in May when the first residents of The Pearl were handed the keys to their new homes. The $14bn man-made island is the first real estate development in the country allowed to offer freehold ownership to foreigners. However, the lavish party staged in June to mark the handover came in the middle of a global economic slump which has wiped up to 35% off the resale price of units on the island.

In recent years, Doha had suffered an acute shortage of housing and office rental stock. As the booming economy drew expatriate workers into Qatar, residential rents rose 154% in 2005-07, and a further 15-20% in 2008. But the supply-demand balance is now shifting. With more developments reaching completion, the market's capacity to absorb the new stock is being reduced. This has been compounded by the global financial crisis, which has prompted developers to reconsider their expansion plans, creating uncertainty in the country's real estate sector.

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