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GCC Real Estate Sale Transactions Reaches $143.1 Bn

The Gulf real estate sector witnessed a growth in the value of deals until October of this year, equivalent to the total sales in 2021 (SPA)
The Gulf real estate sector witnessed a growth in the value of deals until October of this year, equivalent to the total sales in 2021 (SPA)
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GCC Real Estate Sale Transactions Reaches $143.1 Bn

The Gulf real estate sector witnessed a growth in the value of deals until October of this year, equivalent to the total sales in 2021 (SPA)
The Gulf real estate sector witnessed a growth in the value of deals until October of this year, equivalent to the total sales in 2021 (SPA)

Real estate sale transactions in the GCC over Jan-Oct 2022 reached $143.1 billion, eclipsing the full-year figure of 2021, which was $136.9 billion.

According to Kuwait-based KAMCO Investment Company, the total value of the region was nearly 21 percent higher year-on-year compared to the corresponding period from January to October 2021.

The higher transaction activity was driven by value transacted in Dubai that increased almost 81 percent year-on-year over the period, supported by solid demand and price gains witnessed by luxury residential properties and healthy revenues in the affordable segment.

The report, of which Asharq Al-Awsat obtained a copy, stated that the number of transactions in the GCC declined by six percent over Jan-Oct 2022 to 511,239 deals despite a jump of over 61 percent witnessed in Dubai, as other markets such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait saw the lower activity as compared to the same period in 2021.

The average value per transaction achieved for markets such as Saudi Arabia (+35.5 percent) and Dubai (+12.2 percent) was significantly higher, pointing toward end-user solid demand and investment appetite.

"We reiterate that 2022 will be the new base year for the office real estate demand for both new and existing stock of office spaces. Separately, temperature-controlled spaces, chilled centers, and bonded warehouses continue to command premiums of at least 25 percent -30 percent at the top end of the industrial warehouse market," KAMCO says.

All real estate sub-segments in the GCC have performed better in 2022 than in 2021, with residential and quality industrial warehouses witnessing reasonable price and rental increases.

Office supply tailored towards newer sources of demand such as robotics, IT, and healthcare will continue to see faster take-up of such spaces.

The strong NOI (net operating income) performance across sub-segments combined with the twin risks of further interest rate hikes and a prolonged period of high rates could have pushed real estate assets in specific geographies into a late-stage expansion phase, says the report.

"Nevertheless, developers remain cautious of these trends and are expected to announce project launches likely to cater to a more normalized demand environment going forward."

Investor sentiment gained momentum in 2022 and resulted in opportunistic buying in select GCC markets and residential product types, similar to trends in 2021. As a result, prices rose across markets such as Dubai (+9 percent) and Jeddah (+20 percent) at the end of Q3-2022, as per JLL.

Developers continue to provide more flexible payment plans with lower down payments and post-completion plans to attract off-plan and first-time buyers, while catalysts and product demand differ across various GCC markets.

According to the report, Saudi residential sector demand would continue to be driven by Vision 2030's target of increasing home ownership to 70 percent by the end of the decade, and as of mid-2022, the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company estimates home ownership to have reached above 60 percent.

However, rising interest rates resulted in lower offtake of mortgages, as the number of mortgages over Jan-Oct 2022 declined almost 17 percent.

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Business

IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.