Planning your Lebanon property investments

ENAR

For hundreds of years, land has been a refuge investment and much-preferred option to cash. The same is true today, as investors have had enough scares with financial market investments — stocks, securities, futures and, of course, the more toxic products that came to surface during the 2008 financial meltdown. Land, though the least liquid of those assets, has proven to be a secure placement in Lebanon and, in some cases, extremely lucrative. For investors who want to take a position in the Lebanese property sector without exposing themselves to the vagaries of project development, buying land is a safe haven and financially attractive in the mid-to-long term. Data gathered by Ramco show that appetite for buildable plots in Beirut is as vigorous as ever, despite the clear slowdown in real estate activity, the drop in many real estate indicators and the volatility of the political situation.  Buying land in