In the second month following the eruption of protests in the country, the real estate (RE) sector performance remained weak, with the number and value of RE transactions recording annual slumps of 19.24% and 21.52% in the first eleven months of the year.
In fact, the latest data published by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (LRC) revealed that the number of real estate (RE) stood at 44,163 transactions by November 2019 worth $5.7B, down from 54,687 to stood at $7.3B by November last year. Therefore, the average value per RE transaction fell to $129,149 by November 2019, compared to last year’s $133,715.
In turn, foreigners’ share of the total number of real estate transactions climbed from 1.95% by November 2018 to 2.04% by November 2019, with foreigners executing a total of 900 transactions by November 2019, compared to 1,064 transactions this year.
A regional breakdown of RE activity revealed that Baabda continued to grasp the lion’s share of total RE transactions or 18.85%, worth $1.04B by November 2019. The North came in second, constituting 14.93% of the total, worth $350.3M. Meanwhile, the South and Zahle respectively composed 13.28% and 12.77% of the total transactions, whose values stood at $484.9M and $200.14M, respectively. In turn, Metn grasped 11.37% of the total, with total transactions value at $1.03B, over the same period.
Nonetheless, end-November witnessed big depositors in Lebanese banks opting to diversify risk during such times of uncertainty; this move is expected to partially support the number of RE transactions in the ensuing months.
Total Number of Real Estate Transactions by November
Source: Cadastre