Data from the Lebanese Cadastre Registry indicated that the number of real estate (R.E) transactions fell by a 3.04% year-on-year (y-o-y) to reach 5,489 transactions, noting that January witnessed the bumpy start of officials’ negotiations on a new law for parliamentary elections. However, the total value of these transactions climbed by a yearly 5.07% to stand at $559.77M, when compared to the same period last year. Accordingly, the average value per transaction rose from $94,110 in January 2016 to $101,980 in January 2017.
The foreigners’ share of the total number of real estate transactions dropped from 1.89% in January 2016 to 1.79% in the first month of 2017, with a balance of 98 transactions. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the value of foreign RE transactions rose by a 16.7% y-o-y to stand at $23.68M in January 2017.
As for the regional breakdown, Beirut grasped the largest share of total real estate transactions’ value, with a share of 27.47% in January 2017, followed by Metn and Baabda with shares of 17.29% and 13.53%, respectively. However, the North of Lebanon ranked first in number of RE transactions, recording 637 transactions (equivalent to 11.61% of the total), followed by Metn (10.44% of the total) and Baabda (7.38% of the total).
The total number of built units’ transactions increased from 2,699 transactions worth $379.15M in January 2016 to 2,870 transactions worth $390.22M in January 2017. As for the total number of land transactions, it declined by 11.58% y-o-y to settle at 2,619 at a value of $169.55M. Accordingly, the average land transaction value registered a 24.84% y-o-y uptick to $64,739 in January 2017, while the average value per built unit transaction dropped by 3.21% y-o-y to $135,964.
Total Number of Real Estate Transactions in January
Source: Lebanese Cadastre Registry