Growth in rental
supply and demand

Owners delay sales awaiting better deals

The rental market has become more active thanks to rising demand and as a number of owners are postponing sales in anticipation of higher prices.

According to a survey conducted by InfoPro Research just published in Lebanon Opportunities magazine, nearly 71 percent of brokers said that inquiries for renting apartments have increased over the previous 12 months.

Likewise 58 percent of the brokers stated that the number of owners looking to rent out their apartments also grew over the same period, as shown by InfoPro’s ‘Residential Real Estate Survey’ which covered a sample of over 50 developers and 25 real estate consultants and brokers.

There is an inventory of apartments built five years ago that have not been yet sold due to weakening purchasing power or lack of cash dollars, according to Maroun Helou, Chairman of Lebanese Contractors Syndicate for Public Works and Buildings. He said that there is a trend towards a rental market in dollars.

Mohamad S. Sinno, Managing Director of Vertica Realty Group said: “The main supply of apartments for rent comes from people who bought apartments during the crisis as a safe haven for their savings. They are offering to rent them out because they are still underpriced. They are waiting for prices to rise in order to sell them.”