Lebanon’s resistant real estate
In 2009, the real estate sector in Lebanon fared much better than its neighboring counterparts with transactions increasing 2.3 percent and reaching their highest values since the beginning of the decade, according to Bank Audi and the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre. Sales transactions to foreigners also increased 17.6 percent during the year, despite the effects of the financial crisis on the regional economy. The value of property transactions rose 8.3 percent compared to 2008, reaching $7 billion, which also led to the increase in average value per property sale by 5.8 percent to reach $84,000.
Real estate M&A down globally
Dealogic, the New-York based deal tracking firm, announced in early January that the 2009 global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in real estate amounted to $151.9 billion (via 2,282 deals), 34 percent lower than in 2008 and the lowest level in six years. Deal volume fell 44 percent in the Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) region, by 59 percent in the Americas and only 1.6 percent in Asia Pacific. China faired better with a significant increase of 41 percent in M&A levels and was the most targeted nation, attracting some 19 percent of the total volume at $29.3 billion. The EMEA attracted 45 percent of the global total, while the Americas and Asia Pacific attracted 11 percent and 44 percent, respectively.
Realty sinks in Jordan
In 2009, the value of real estate transactions in Jordan dropped 21 percent year-on-year, totaling some $6.7 billion, according to the Jordanian Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre. The Kingdom’s revenues from real estate sales also retreated 29 percent, amounting to $381 million. Iraqis headed the list of foreign real estate investors, with 1,400 Iraqis investing some $194 million in the market.
Kuwaitis came second in numbers with 1,219 investors and fourth in terms of value, with $21 million worth of investments. The third most numerous were Saudi investors, at 402, with some $26 million invested — third in terms of value. The overall number of sales transactions to non-Jordanian buyers and investors in 2009 amounted to 4,810 transactions, counting 1,889 residential units and 2,921 land parcels.
East Jerusalem even more occupied
It the end of December, the Israeli Ministry of Housing invited tenders to build 692 homes in the Jewish settlements of Neve Yaacov, Psgat Zeev and Har Homa, among others in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. The United States and the European Union criticized the expansion, as new construction in the occupied territories is considered one of the biggest obstacles to the resumption of peace negotiations. Sweden, which holds the EU presidency also said in a statement that it was “dismayed at the announcement of the government of Israel to build 700 apartments in occupied East Jerusalem,” adding that “settlements on occupied land are illegal under international law.” Israel also announced the approval of the construction of four residential buildings, including 24 apartments, on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.
Kuwait Finance House in Chicago
uwait Finance House, the country’s biggest Islamic lender, announced at the end of December that it had signed a $242 million residential real estate deal in the American city of Chicago, according to Maktoob Business. The project is currently under construction and is located on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, also known as Miracle Mile. It will be 95 percent owned by the KFH and 5 percent by the United States-based Prism Company for real estate development. The residential compound will include 40 floors and more than 80 flats. Steps to widen its investment portfolio in the US began last August when KFH entered a joint venture with the US-based United Dominion Rent Inc. (UDR) to buy high-income residential property, with a budget of $450 million. “Such a huge partnership shows the objectives KFH is trying to achieve by returning as a major player in the American real estate market, after it had liquidated a large portion of its investments before the economic crisis began,” KFH International Real Estate Department Manager Ali al-Ghannam told Maktoob Business back in August.
Green city delayed
In the first week of January, The National reported that the $22 billion Masdar City in Abu Dhabi will be delayed at least four years from its original completion date in 2016. The first phase of the carbon neutral, zero-waste, zero-emissions city will be completed on schedule in 2013, a spokesperson from Masdar told the newspaper, but the remaining six phases will be handed over gradually during the decade. In 2020, the city is expected to host a significant number of business and residencies. According to the newspaper, officials from Masdar say the financial crisis is not the reason for the delay, but rather it is caused by the technological challenges the company is facing to build the city. “Masdar is not a typical real estate development and is not bound by similar pressures of fixed completion dates,” the spokesperson told The National. “For Masdar, success will not be measured on the speed with which the city is constructed, but the standards it sets in addressing today’s energy and sustainability challenges.”
