The value of planned and under construction property projects in the GCC amounts to $1.36 tn, Invest-Gate reports.

Saudi Arabia tops the market projects value $877 bn, followed by the UAE.

The GCC economies are forecast to achieve strong growth in 2023.

The average GDP growth across GCC countries in 2023 is set to reach 2.7%.

“First, on a positive note, where we have seen prices decline, it has been relatively marginal. However, price growth in Dubai and Riyadh have significantly outpaced the regional average. In 2022, the UAE was the only market to record price growth and transaction volume growth across all cities and sectors,” CBRE’s 2023 Middle East Real Estate Market Outlook says.

CBRE predicts that villa prices in Bahrain will experience low-single digit growth, while apartment prices are expected to decrease significantly due to new launches and existing supply.

In Saudi Arabia, the property market is likely to become more polarised with villa prices continuing to rise at a slower pace and apartment prices softening, except in Riyadh where the rate of price growth is expected to moderate.

Regarding rental trends in Bahrain, CBRE expects villa rents to increase slightly in 2023, while average rents are forecasted to decrease further.

In Dubai, residential rents hit a record high in 2022 with average apartment rents increasing by 27.1% and average villa rents rising by 24.9%.

Although demand has increased, new registrations fell by 7.0%. The industry expert predicts that in 2023, rents in Dubai will continue to rise uniformly, but at a slower pace.