Kuwait’s real-estate sector saw price hikes in 2021

Kuwait’s real-estate sector saw price hikes in 2021

KUWAIT: Prices of housing real-estates rose last year in Kuwait, where investors focused on Kuwaitis’ residential areas dealing in uninhabited plots of land, capitalizing on government subsidies and transforming residential units into rental houses. Some residential districts, mainly inhabited by citizens, witnessed more than 35 percent rise in rates of the plots, leading to record growth of property assets in the shadow of scarce offered real-estates.

The former director general of Kuwait Clearing Company, Tareq Al-Atigi, said in an interview that prices in this sector hit unprecedented high level, largely due to robust activities by traders and brokers, purchasing uninhabited plots of land in East Al-Gurain in July 2021 and selling them in November, posting more than 10 percent of profits. Moreover, the investors bought 375-square-meter houses in Kuwaiti’s residential districts such as Al-Khaldiya and Al-Yarmouk in May, at KD 500,000 per unit ($1.6 million), and sold them at KD 600,000 ($1.9 million). Value of these units rose by KD 20,000 ($66,267.36) per month for a five-month period, Atigi said.

Government subsidies

The dealers focused on the Kuwaitis’ residences, buoyed by government subsidies for utilities namely water and power. Such a beneficial privilege does not exist in the investment sector – home to