How has Kuwaiti real estate grown in liquidity?

Of all the non-oil sectors in Kuwait, real estate has shown good growth. In the years to come, it promises high liquidity and stable growth rates.

The GCC countries have been performing well on many fronts lately. Chief among these is crude oil, infrastructure, construction and real estate. Overall, the GCC countries are moving away from the earlier dependence on oil and petroleum sale to boost the economy. This has opened up new avenues of revenue in other sectors of business.

In terms of real estate, countries like Kuwait have picked up pace in the last decade or so. Apart from its booming oil economy, Kuwait has done remarkably well for itself with its real estate, a major contributor to the economy. Real estate in Kuwait has been performing exceptionally well owing to several factors combining to lower prices.

A focus on Kuwaiti real estate

Real estate in Kuwait has not been hampered in its growth trajectory, the way some other sectors have been. There was certainly a slump in the years 2013 to 2015, but pace has picked up once again. Demand for quality housing is at an all-time high, with rise in expat population and investors looking to buy properties in key residential areas. Not much buildable land is available in Kuwait, and the Government regulates the zonal classification of available land into residential, commercial and industrial. It is not often that the Government may reclassify an existing tract of land to make way for more buildable real estate, which further restricts the land use of available land.

A rising population demands more housing. Fortunately, there is institutional and Government support for the growth of real estate in Kuwait. The sector is today, helping to bolster and diversify the economy in many ways.

Recent Government policies have had a lot to do with the overall expansion of the real estate sector in Kuwait. The Government has taken a remarkably proactive approach towards housing, especially mass housing. It has tied up with several agencies on the ground to help diversify real estate and make Kuwait an ideal housing destination in the Middle East. Financial entities such as the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) and Kuwait Credit Bank (KCB), to name just two, are ably supporting the housing and construction initiatives along, too.  

Extra liquidity has also been ushered in real estate in Kuwait through the country’s wealth being increasingly pumped into domestic real estate projects. The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is instrumental in providing this liquidity through well placed funding. Meanwhile, KCB generates liquidity for Kuwaiti nationals wishing to buy into the country’s real estate. This reach also extends to agricultural and industrial initiatives.

PAHW extends loans to married Kuwaitis who wish to buy a house. It also facilitates the provision of houses.