Following the pandemic-induced sluggishness of the previous year, sales activity in Oman’s property market has rebounded strongly this year.
The National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) released new statistics in July that indicated a strong rebound in the sultanate’s real estate market.
The total value of traded property in Oman increased 28.8 percent to RO1.560 billion from RO1.211 billion in the same period in 2020, indicating the sector’s resilience in the face of easing pandemic restrictions. This year, real-estate transactions have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The traded value of sales contracts in Oman increased by more than 55% to RO687 million in the first seven months of 2021, compared to RO442.9 million in the same period a year ago, according to NCSI data.
According to data, the number of sales contracts increased by 84% this year to 49,443 from 26,878 in the first seven months of 2020.
Mortgage activity in the sultanate has also rebounded sharply in recent months, owing to the sharp increase in the number of property transactions.
Rated value of mortgage contracts increased by nearly 20% to RO860.7mn during the January–July period, compared to RO719.8mn in the same period last year.
The number of executed mortgage contracts increased by 586.6% to 10,634 in the first seven months of this year, up from 6,706 in the same period last year.
Savills, the leading global real estate advisory firm, highlighted in a recent report that Oman’s real estate market is in a significantly better position than this time last year, but headwinds remain for the sector. It emphasized that opportunities for successful development must be carefully considered and narrowly focused on obvious market gaps, opportunities, and needs.
According to the NCSI, the total number of properties issued in the sultanate reached 144,670 at the end of July 2021, a robust increase of more than 55% from 92,929 issued a year ago.
The number of properties issued to citizens of GCC countries in Oman increased to 386 this year, up from 220 in January–July 2020 period.
