The year continues to see high levels of buyer interest, particularly in the ‘off plan’ apartment developments.

There appears to be no shortage of bank liquidity and thus availability of mortgages remains available and accessible for such investment purchases. There remain few commercially attractive alternative means of domestic investment for the local market and as such property remains a firm favorite, showing typically a 7% initial yield upon completion.

The emergence of commercial space for sale is a relatively new phenomenon and a number of developments have entered the market since year commencement. Whilst this is a relatively new investment sector for Oman and offers in general less returns than residential, it is a welcome addition to a fast evolving property industry.

The impact of raising of Ministry of Housing transfer costs to 5% appears to have had little impact on prevailing re sale prices of land and property.

There is some concern that as a counter to the increased tax, full transaction values may not be reported upon sale/purchase and the raising of rates could theoretically result in lower fees collected as a result.

The establishment of a real estate pricing index as proposed by the Oman Real Estate Association is a first step in ensuring that Government bodies can track value movements and be alerted to any fraudulent reporting of sale values. The maturing of this property market to international levels of standard is slow but is now underway.

Full report here.