Doha, Qatar: Residential rents in Qatar have remained relatively stable throughout 2024; however, high occupancy rates in good-quality apartment buildings in The Pearl and Lusail Marina indicate that there may be upward pressure on rents in some properties in 2025.
While take-up and occupancy have increased in Lusail Marina and The Pearl, absorption in Lusail’s other districts such as Fox Hills and Al Erkyah has been slower, with higher vacancy rates evident, Cushman & Wakefield noted in its Q4 2024 Real Estate Market Review.
The occupancy rates also remain high in many of central Doha’s districts; however, the number of new master planned developments on Doha’s southern outskirts ahead of the World Cup has resulted in higher vacancy rates in some of these developments, with attractive lease terms and rental incentives available to new tenants. Many of Doha’s higher-quality villa compounds are now at full occupancy, with waiting lists increasingly common for compounds in areas such as Onaiza, Mesilla, Al Waab, Duhail etc.
Cityscape Qatar was held at the Doha Exhibition and Conference Centre in October last year where several new residential developments in Qatar were launched. Some of the notable projects to launch at last year’s event included SLS Doha and The Groove Residence, by Qetaifan Projects, Crystal Residences on Gewan Island by UDC, and Barwa Hills in Fox Hills.
Cityscape 2024 was held in conjunction with the second Qatar Real Estate Forum, an event that brings together real estate experts and stakeholders from Qatar and around the world, to exchange ideas and explore future trajectories and opportunities in the Qatar Real Estate Market.
The event illustrates the government’s determination to support Qatar’s real estate market and attract investment from both Qatar and overseas. Central to the development of Qatar’s real estate market is the establishment of the real estate regulator Aqarat, which is in the process of merging and developing real estate services and frameworks that had previously been shared between different government ministries.
The fourth quarter of last year also saw inauguration of the landmark Land of Legends project, which is to be developed by Qatari Diar and FTG Development in Simaisma. Land of Legends Qatar is set to become one of the largest theme parks in the Middle East with investment of $3bn.
Oxford Economics have kept their 2025 GDP growth forecast for Qatar unchanged at 2.1% and expects growth will more than double next year as the additional LNG capacity starts up.
The non-energy sector will remain the primary growth engine in the near term after expanding by an estimated 3.2% last year. The planned revamp of key laws governing bankruptcy, public-private partnerships, and commercial registration will likely help unlock stronger foreign direct investment inflows in support of non-energy expansion.
