The biggest hurdle in the development of real estate business in Kuwait is the limitation of land as only 63 sq m is obtainable per person compared to 194 sq m in Bahrain; 468 sq m in Dubai, UAE, and 171 sq m in Riyadh, said Tawfikh Al Jarrah, the chairman of the Kuwait Real Estate Union.

He was speaking at the first-ever Business Breakfast meeting hosted by Cityscape in Kuwait which was attended by  elite decision makers, developers, investors and key stakeholders of the real estate market.

This puts a lot of pressure on land prices thus leading to a significant increase, he stated.

As a preview to the upcoming premier real estate investment and development event - Cityscape Kuwait, being held from December 9 to 11 - this exclusive event introduced some of the most important themes that will take place during the exhibition at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Mishref.

The discussions centered on possible changes to the economic framework of the GCC states due to natural resource instabilities, while stressing real estate will play a significant role in long-term economical sustainability with the region, said the organisers.

Ahmed Zakaria, the exhibition manager of Cityscape Kuwait, said: "In analyzing the real estate market in Kuwait, it is important to broaden the landscape to include a global scope. Historically, Kuwaiti citizens and residents have pioneered overseas property investments by setting the trends for real estate hotspots."

"By discussing the current state of the Kuwaiti real estate market, there is also a need to expand the topic to cover transnational areas which have typically been points of attraction for Kuwait-based investors," he noted.

The influential panel chosen to speak at the Kuwait Business Breakfast gathered experts from a cross-section of the business world. From the media sector, Ahmed Bou Merhi, Head of Kuwaiti Business News at Al Arabiya News Channel and Head of the Business Department at Al-Anbaa newspaper, moderated the panel.  

Naser Faisal Alkhaled, the head of Real Estate Funds at Global Investment House, pointed out that Kuwait had limited real estate opportunities compared to the UAE which was a big and lucrative market.

"However, the housing real estate sector in Kuwait is currently witnessing tremendous growth owing to the robust demand from residents," he stated.

Analyzing other real estate markets in GCC, Al Khaled said Saudi market was the strongest in terms of demands and for offering the best investments opportunities, while both Qatar and Bahrain were relatively smaller markets.

Bassam Al Othman, the executive VP at Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz), said if oil prices hit the $55-70 mark, the impact on the real estate sector will be minimal and that applies on all of Saudi Arabia, UAE markets subject to their economic dependence on oil."

Rami Echo, the chief investment officer at Alargan, pointed out that financial flows from the Gulf countries to America and Europe was likely to get affected owing to the fall in the financial surplus due to lower oil prices.

As a result of the fear of investing abroad, Kuwaiti investors will be boost their investments in local real estate companies and funds, he added.-TradeArabia News Service