Kuwaiti real estate sales recovered in September registering a 11.2 per cent year-on-year growth to hit KD199.5 million ($722 million) after slowing down in August mainly due to Ramadan, said a report.

The Kuwaiti residential sector accounted for 51 per cent of the total sales, with the investment and commercial sectors taking 37 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, said the Kuwait Economic Brief published by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

The residential sector reclaimed its top spot in September from the investment industry which was the biggest sector for the last three months.

Overall, the residential sector netted a total sales of KD102.7 million, a 50 per cent y/y increase, the report said.

It also saw 585 transactions carried out during the month, with 2011 averaging 479 transactions per month so far. The sector should continue to do well in the coming months as it is backed by healthy local demand.

The investment sector (apartments and buildings) also saw some improvement in September with the sales jumping 85 per cent to hit KD73.4 million compared to the same month last year.

The sector, which is mainly composed of apartment buildings intended for rental, has averaged total sales of KD92 million per month so far in 2011, said the NBK report.

This compares with averages of KD30.8 million and KD52.9 million for the same period in 2009 and 2010 respectively, it stated.

The increase in transaction size might be partially attributed to higher prices and/or construction costs, but may also indicate increased demand in this sector, the NBK said in the Kuwait Economic Brief.

The commercial sector saw a total of five transactions carried out during September, taking 12 per cent of the real estate sector in terms of sales value.

'The small number of transactions is typical of this sector, but is supported by much higher value per transaction compared to other sectors. The commercial sector has averaged KD 4.7 million per transaction in September and KD 2.9 million so far in 2011,' it added.

The past few months leading to September saw some slow down in real estate activity; this was likely attributed to seasonal and vacation-related effects, combined with typical reduced activity during Ramadan, the NBK said.

However, September showed signs of recovery that should continue to improve throughout the last quarter of 2011, it added.-TradeArabia News Service