If one thinks about how political unrest might damage the real estate sector in a country and then looks at the demand and price figures in Lebanon, there is a sense of awe, if not confusion. “You cannot follow your textbook in real estate in Lebanon,” said Elie Harb, president of Coldwell Banker. “Comparing Lebanon to my knowledge in different markets … here the opposite always happens. What drives markets? Why does the real estate market go up? What is the trend and what do you follow? It does not apply in Lebanon.” Harb also explained that whenever there is political instability in Lebanon, prices do not go down, but only stabilize. Whenever people start to buy again, prices soar. With that in mind, all the political turmoil that the country has faced did not lower prices, but will a world financial crisis also fail to do so? Prices Two
