According to the data from the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (LRC), the number of Real estate (RE) transactions which may include one or more realties, went down by a yearly 17.38% to stand at 77,380 transactions by November 2022, compared to 93,654 transactions same period last year. In the same token, the value of total RE transactions stood at $12.94B by November 2022, which is 3.2% lower than $13.37B in the same period last year.
On a monthly basis, the number of RE transactions stood at 9,874 in the month of November 2022, compared to 11,006 transactions in the previous month of October 2022, and to 10,708 transactions in November 2021. In details, Baabda region holds the biggest share of real estate transactions at 3,048, or 30.87% of total RE transactions, in the month of November 2022, followed by the South at 1.726 transactions or 17.48% of total RE transactions. Furthermore, Beirut grasped 13.66% of total RE activity in November 2022 and no RE transactions were registered in the area of Metn for the months of September, October and November 2022.
Moreover, the breakdown of RE activity by value for November 2022 showed that Beirut grasped the lion’s share of the total value of RE transactions, equivalent of 46.53% and worth $757.24M, while the South followed, constituting 19.15% of the total and worth $311.7M.
The Real Estate market has been broadly perceived as the safest investment for the Lebanese since the eruption of the economic and financial crisis. The demand for owning a real estate in Lebanon remained high compared to years before the crisis but with a slower pace of expansion compared to last year. This could be attributed to the fact that Real Estate owners are requesting full payments to be in fresh while buyers are cautious towards their investments due to the uncertainty in the coming period. The prospects for the coming year might not be that good either, given that property taxes would be valued at exchange rates notably higher than the official rate of 1507 LBP per USD.
Number of RE transactions by November 2022:
Source: CADASTRE, BLOMINVEST