Kuwait’s real estate market faces a slowdown in value and volume of sales as well as risks from a prolonged period of low oil prices, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF’s 2016 Article IV Mission released its concluding statement last week, saying that sectors to which the Kuwaiti banks are significantly exposed, such as real estate, might pose a risk for these banks, noting that there has been a slowdown in the real estate sector.

The IMF’s mission also noted that a prolonged period of low oil prices has the potential to “Increase liquidity and credit risks, exacerbate stock market volatility, and negatively affect real estate prices.”

On the upside, however, the mission applauded the Central Bank of Kuwait’s enforcement of Basel III regulations and its prevention of excessive debt build up and its limitation of banks’ exposure to real estate.