Real Estate transactions continue to plummet in first half of 2023

Real Estate transactions continue to plummet in first half of 2023

KUWAIT: Prices of real estate transactions have been on a steady downward slope since the first half of 2022, as per Ministry of Justice data. The decline is accompanied by a price rate hike especially within Assima and Hawally governorates. The first half of this current year marked a sharp 41 percent plunge in the number of transactions within the residential sector, which refers to housing owned and occupied by Kuwaitis, with 1,526 deals struck (total value of KD 736 million) compared to 2,592 in the same period last year (total value of KD 1.75 billion).

Despite this obvious decline in the number of deals, the average value of a single deal increased to KD 483,000 per deal from KD 414,000 in 2022, a 16.6 increase, this speaks to private residence price increases namely within Assima and Hawally while prices in other governorates remain intact. The investments sector, which refers to real estate owned by Kuwaitis but turned into apartments for rent, was also subject to decrease as 589 deals were registered in first half of 2023 compared to 687 deals in the first half of the previous year, marking a 14.2 percent decrease.

However, unlike the residential sector, average value of