According to RAMCO, the sale prices of apartments under construction in Beirut have decreased by 1.5% in 2016, compared to a slower 1.2% and 0.7% drops in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Through its Residential Price Index of Beirut, the real estate advisory firm highlighted that the sluggish performance resulted from a, “slowdown phase within a difficult economic, political, and security context.” The study covering 213 residential buildings under construction in 56 neighborhoods across Municipal Beirut showed that 28.9% of the projects under construction have adjusted their prices downward, while 11.6% have increased their asking sales prices. However, the majority of the projects under construction (59.5% of total projects) have kept their prices unchanged in 2016. This figure showed that developers prefer to post the same asking sales prices as in 2015 thus being flexible in price negotiations (between 10-30% of initial price) with serious buyers only, instead of openly announcing a drop in their prices.
Evolution in Asking Sales Prices*
| Year | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
| Description | Number Share of of Stock Projects (%) | Number Share of of Stock Projects (%) | Number Share of of Stock Projects (%) |
| Total | 215 100 | 248 100 | 249 100 |
| Y-o-Y Change (%) | -1.5 | -1.2 | -0.7 |
*in Municipal Beirut
Source:Ramco sarl-June 2017