According to the official data, Kuwaiti real estate sales plunged -47% in Q2 2009 compared to the year earlier, with the blame being put down to the global financial crisis.

Property sales fell to 280.8m dinars from 529.1m dinars in Q2 2008. In the residential sector which represents the biggest proportion of property transactions, sales fell -28.1% in the quarter to 142.8m dinars. Property sales, especially for residential units, have been falling since state-restricted private firms were barred by the Government from residential real estate deals last year.

Investment property sales fell -55.6% to 101.19m dinars, while commercial property (apartment buildings for leasing) sales were down -64.1% in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the same period a year earlier.

However, a separate report from Kuwait based Emaar Company for Real Estate Services said that property prices in Kuwait increased +15% in July. The return of Kuwait Finance House and other Islamic financial institutions to the property lending market have contributed to the increase, the report claims.

Indeed, according to the real estate registration department at Kuwait’s ministry of justice, sales in the private residential sector increased by +55% in July.