Real estate values in Lebanon have increased by +9% in the first eight months of this year and are projected to rise by +10-15% each year until 2013.
The value of property transactions reached more than $4.3bn in 2008 and this year is expected to be even higher. One reason that demand for apartments is likely to continue rising is that the Central Bank has given incentives to commercial banks to increase house loans at very competitive rates. Banks are offering 20-30-year housing loans at interest rates 5.9% and under.

The latest official figures from the Directorate of Real Estate back up the trend. They show that there were 7,740 operations during August, up by +3.9% compared with July, their highest value in 2009 so far. But the property market in Lebanon has been affected by the global downturn as well. The August figures are still -2.3% lower than they were in August 2008 when the property market peaked.