The market for leasing homes in Qatar is likely to show strong signs of growth in 2013 and 2014 as major infrastructure and construction projects get underway, according to consultancy firm EC Harris
The company's latest report on the outlook for property financing states that Qatar is also set for a hotel building boom, with 5,000 new hotel rooms planned each year in the run-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The market for residential property sales in the Emirate is likely to remain flat, however, and no major new office development has been planned due to the continuing overhang of space from the last commercial boom.
The firm's analysis of other markets states that the Middle East will be one of a number of hot spots for financing alongside other markets where GDP is expected to grow such as Southeast Asia, Brazil and Canada.
?Saudi Arabia will need to meet the challenge of maintaining inward investment in the face of potentially lower oil prices caused by the combined effects of increased supply from Iraq and US shale reserves," it said.
It added that the record budget announced by the kingdom, in which social infrastructure was a key feature, would fund a huge number of housing, education and healthcare schemes.
"With approximately 60 per cent of the population below the age of 40, Saudi Arabia?s infrastructure and residential plans are due to actual, sustainable demand from a native population rather than reliant on expatriates or the tourism sector,? EC Harris said.
"The mortgage law passed in late 2012 will have a significant impact on the residential market by increasing the ability of Saudis to own their own homes," it added.
