Afaf Hashim
With the countdown to the 2022 FIFA World Cup now underway, awareness of, and interest in Qatar is mounting with TV screens across continents airing tourism commercials for the country.
The FIFA Tournament Time Demand Model forecasts that over 1.7 million people could visit Qatar during the tournament, with approximately 500,000 visitors in the country on the busiest days. Many millions more will get better acquainted with the country through the realms of print media, broadcasts and social media posts that will emerge from fans, teams and journalists staying in Qatar.
The worldwide appeal of this tournament – and a key element of its economic impacts – will boost air travel, on-ground visitor services, hospitality, and accommodation occupancy rates, beginning months before the first kickoff. The longer-term impact, it is hoped, is the upswing in the perception of Qatar as a distinguished place for businesses which serve markets in the Middle East, and a hub for trading between East and West, as well as a superb place to live with modern accommodation and the chance for foreigners to own their own properties and a new aspirational destination in which to holiday. This would translate into a rise in the population, with increased demand for both residential and commercial properties, both for sale and rent. Consequently, the market could then only be further solidified and enhanced by more of Qatar’s exciting major sporting events calendar which is filling up with the Qatar MotoGP – one of the most spectacular events on the MotoGP calendar – the Qatar F1 Grand Prix, which begins a 10-year run in 2023, the 2030 Asian Games, and hopefully a future Olympic Games. The leasing market and consumer data provider Statista predicts Qatar’s population will rise from its current 2.79 million to 3.02 million by 2026.
According to leading local players, there is an increase in real estate market activity, with one of the reasons being the nation’s successful vaccination program – the largest in the country’s history - alongside the World Cup build up. The 2022 FIFA World Cup has already brought stability to Qatar’s rental market. In the third quarter of last year, according to leading international leading real estate consultancy ValuStrat, the median monthly residential rent in Qatar showed little movement on the second quarter with Eskan leases administered by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy reducing short-term oversupply. In fact, the number of listings on www.propertyfinder.qa has increased dramatically over the last quarter of 2021 with rental listings recording an increase of 37 percent in Doha, 45 percent in Lusail, and 36 percent in Al Wakra, when comparing July – December 2020 and July – December 2021. In terms of sales listings, we have also witnessed an increase in that sector when comparing July – December 2020 and July – December 2021, with Doha recording an increase of almost 40 percent, as well as over 50 percent increase in the number of listings in Lusail. This illustrates the continuous increase in supply across the market.
New office space demand has largely come from businesses operating in the financial and insurance, administrative and support services and arts, entertainment, and recreation sectors. Qatar’s office stock stands at 5.6 million sqm GLA with Valustrat predicting a further 1.26 million sqm will be delivered over the next 15 months with just over two-thirds (65%) being in Lusail, the smart, sustainable Msheireb Downtown, Al Dafna, Onaiza, Umm Ghuwailina and Salata/Al Mirqab.
Modor Intelligence forecasts foreign investment in Qatar’s residential real estate will increase in coming years, with non-Qataris investing in selected projects such as West Bay Lagoon and The Pearl. Additionally, a focus by developers on the luxury segment will, says Modor, attract aspirational buyers as Qatar’s positioning as a luxury destination takes hold. This falls in line with continuous government initiatives that aim at encouraging foreign real estate investment, with a number of advantages announced for those who invest in the real estate market, as well as the flexibility of a number of new areas that are now available for non-Qatari real estate ownership.
While rental and property prices may witness an initial post-World Cup decline, the country’s QInvest believes the infrastructure investment for the hosting of the World Cup, including the metro, stadiums, new destinations – Msheireb Downtown Doha and Lusail – and the road network will boost the country’s efficiency and overall appeal which will help attract new businesses and events and white-collar employees needed to service them all of which will impact the real estate sector. This, coupled with the influx of DFI and Qatar National Vision 2030 will continue to create market opportunities, especially in the real estate sector. It is also important to note that the efforts of the Ministry of Justice in regulating the real estate market will boost confidence and create transparency for investors. In the post-tournament medium-term, Qatar’s real estate sector is expected to rebound quickly as a result of the government’s commitment and incentivization of the market.
