Kuwaiti real estate sales fell 35.2 per cent in February, the eleventh straight month of decline, official data showed on Wednesday.

Property sales, especially for residential units, have been falling since the state restricted private firms from residential real estate deals last year.

Meanwhile, Gulf property markets are coming under pressure amid a global financial crisis that has brought to an end an economic boom in the oil-exporting region.

Residential property deals, which represent the biggest proportion of total real estate transactions, fell 52.59 per cent in the year to February to KD45.81 million ($155 million), according to the government data obtained by Reuters.

Investment property sales fell 56.4 per cent in February to KD20.48 million, while deals in property classified as commercial almost tripled to KD34.88 million from KD12.49 million a year earlier, the data showed.

Commercial property in Kuwait typically refers to apartment buildings meant for leasing, mainly to foreigners.



Source: Trade Arabia News