Kuwaiti has registered a 15 per cent year-on-year growth in its real estate sales which soared to KD251 million ($886 million) during October compared to last year on the back of a strong commercial sector, said a report.

Sector-wise, the sales in the commercial sector saw a solid rebound from a weak September. Other sectors were softer, probably reflecting the short working month, according to country's top lender National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

October did very well considering the week-long Eid Al-Adha Holiday; thus only three weeks of data were present, it stated.

The sales in the residential sector reached KD158 million in October, an 11 per cent y/y increase. The increase is the smallest since April and is a result of the drop in the number of transactions (-16 per cent y/y), stated the NBK data.

In terms of location, 46 per cent of transactions were in Ahmadi Governorate, mostly in the Sabah Al-Ahmed Sea-City. While Mubarak Al-Kabeer maintained its position in second place two months in a row, keeping Hawalli in third. Plot transactions accounted for 65 per cent of all transactions in the residential sector leaving existing homes in second with 35 per cent.

According to NBK, the investment sector sales stood at only KD61 million in October, down 18 per cent y/y. Also the sales in October were the lowest since August 2012.

The average transaction size reached KD701,000, a 40 per cent y/y increase. Whole buildings made up 36 per cent of all transactions in this sector, while individual apartments received the larger share of 47 per cent and the rest went to empty plots, stated the report.

On the commercial sector, NBK said there was a solid rebound with the sales surging to KD32 million in October from a mere KD2 million last year.

"The increase in sales came from 8 transactions, 5 of which were in Farwaniya Governorate. The increase highlights the high volatility of sales in the commercial sector. Overall, this sector has done exceptionally well in 2013 recording y/y growth in 8 out of 10 months so far this year," said the top Kuwaiti lender.

"Away from sales, the Savings and Credit Bank approved KD 37 million in loans during October, up 66 per cent y/y. The value of disbursed loans increased 37 per cent y/y to KD 12 million. Also, similar to recent trends, the vast majority of loans approved and disbursed were for new construction. Fewer were for the purchase of existing homes or maintenance," it added.-TradeArabia News Service