Kuwait Real Estate

As the waiting list for government-subsidised housing in Kuwait has grown to more than 100,000 in 2013, projects aimed at combating the shortage will see a number of new construction projects in the coming years. Sluggish residential real estate growth and restrictive legislation have created difficulties for the sector, but new public-private partnerships (PPPs) and improved credit access could help alleviate Kuwait’s housing problems.

The local real estate sector continues to send out mixed messages. While Kuwait’s residential segment is clearly on the rise, other components of the market are struggling to rebound from the downturn in the property market in 2009 and, more recently, domestic political concerns.

Momentum generated by a strong recovery in Kuwait’s real estate sector in early 2012 is expected to continue throughout the year. In February 2012, the National Bank of Kuwait revealed that real estate sales in January totalled KD318.1m ($1.14bn), a 64% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase, which represents the third-best level on record.

According to several recently published reports, the outlook for Kuwait's real estate sector is looking up. After hitting a low in 2009, the real estate market has begun to show signs of recovery and following robust expansion in 2010, the sector appears poised to see further growth this year.