The good news for the Beirut property market is that the dangerous bubble everyone said would form has not. The reasons are straightforward: the two-years between the 2006 summer war and the June 2008 Doha Agreement, a period that was punctuated by the March 8 downtown sit-in and a spate of political assassinations, saw the property market hit rock bottom. Many Lebanese sold up and left, faced with a future filled with uncertainty and plagued by security concerns. Post-Doha, Lebanon had guarantees and political consensus. It had a new president and within a year held successful elections. Almost overnight, Lebanon became a safe haven for capital fleeing the Gulf Cooperation Council in financial disarray, seeking property and land as well as investment opportunities in the tourism and retail sectors. At the same time prices on the global commodities market rose, leading to a hike in the cost of building materials
