Property sales drop
in numbers and value

First downturn since 2019

Real estate sales contracts registered in the Land Registry and Cadaster decreased both in terms of number and value in 2022 compared with the previous year.

Total value decreased 7.6 percent to $14.4 billion while the number of registered transactions dropped 27 percent to nearly 80,000. The most active periods in 2022 were the first quarter and from the beginning of summer through to November.

The number of registered transactions had jumped by 63 percent in 2020 and 34 percent in 2021.

The decrease in registration was mainly the result of the frequent closures of the Land Registry and Cadaster and the lack of power supply, said Namir Cortas, Chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association (REDAL). Some of these closures could be deliberate with the purpose of forcing taxpayers to pay at the new LL15,000 exchange rate.

Another reason for the decline is that paying for property purchases became almost entirely in fresh dollars last year and checks were basically not used any more.

Cortas said the fact that value declined at a slower pace than numbers is that prices of built properties, especially small apartments, have moderately rebounded. He said that the purpose of most purchases was not investment but to use the property for residence. According to Cortas, demand for small apartments increased last year and is expected to continue in 2023 but supply is limited. He said that buying property for investment purposes such as plots of land or big built properties has declined.