Real estate market shows signs of recovery: Alargan chief

Muscat: The real estate market in Oman is showing signs of recovery, according to a top-level official of a leading real estate development company.
“I believe that the market is recovering slowly,” said Eng. Hisham Moussa, chief executive officer of Alargan Towell.
He said that there has been an increase in real estate activities in the region, including Oman. Recent data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information shows a phenomenal growth of 124 per cent in sales of properties in the Sultanate at OMR7.7 billion for the first ten months of 2016, from OMR3.4 billion for the same January-October period of 2015.
Mortgage contracts during the same period soared by 186 per cent to OMR6.8 billion from OMR2.4 billion. “This also shows that the investment in real estate activities carries least possible risk and greater long-term profit. Real estate sector in Oman is considered as one of the promising sectors for medium-to-long term investment,” noted Eng. Moussa.
Eng. Moussa also said that the Sultanate’s government is taking economic diversification seriously. “Tanfeed and other initiatives are aimed at maintaining the growth momentum in the economy.”
“This is the time for people to think about real estate investment, when the prices are reasonable and returns are guaranteed in the medium to long term,” added Eng. Moussa.
However, Eng. Moussa said that the real estate sector faced several challenges following a drop in oil prices in 2014.