Beirut properties at $3,223 per sqm

22 years of rent to buy a 150 sqm apartment in Beirut

Beirut was ranked as the 50th most expensive city in 2011 in terms of property prices among 94 markets globally, according to figures cited by the Global Property Guide in its annual report on global real estate investment trends.

The report ranked Beirut in second place in the Arab world behind Dubai in terms of the price of a 120 to 150 square meters apartment. The price of an apartment of such size in Beirut was $3,223 per square meter.

According to the report, Beirut's rent-per-month throughout 2011 was $1,872 for a 150 sqm apartment, higher than the Arab average of $1,526 per month.

The report only counts resale apartments and residences that have been refurbished or redecorated within the past five years. The data in the report is based on figures covering Achrafieh, the Beirut Central District, Hamra, Jnah, Ramlet El Baida, Ras Beirut, and Verdun.

Beirut’s price-to-rent ratio, which represents the number of years of rent needed to buy a property with a surface area between 120 and 150 sqm, was 22, higher than the Arab average of 16. The price-to-rent ratio is 21 in New York, 15 in Dubai and Egypt, and 11 in Jordan.

The report said that Roundtrip Transaction Cost in Lebanon was 11.5 percent of the value of the property. Roundtrip Transaction Cost represents the expenses of buying and reselling a residential property (registration costs, sales and property transfer taxes…) as a percentage of the value of the property. Roundtrip costs in Lebanon are similar to Egypt and Morocco, and lower than Jordan (15 percent).