Building boom in Bahrain? Southern Governorate, Muharraq lead permit race

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Report by Mohammed Darwish

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) report for the first quarter of 2024 has revealed that the Southern Governorate and Muharraq Governorate are leading in the value of building permits issued during this period.

Expectations are that the growth in building permits will continue. In the Southern Governorate, the value of building permits reached BD88.8 million for 70 building permits and 609 transactions. In Muharraq Governorate, the value amounted to BD80.46 million for 90 building permits and 588 transactions.

The Capital Governorate was third, with building permits valued at BD78.9 million for 48 permits and 580 transactions. The Northern Governorate was last, with permits valued at BD73.43 million for 153 permits and 609 transactions.

The building permits index is a tool for measuring housing activity and the broader economy, and serves as a reference for understanding investment trends and their geographic distribution.

Real estate activity

Abdulla Murad, Executive Director of a leading services institution, expects the Southern Governorate to continue leading in building permit values, driven by significant real estate activity from major companies such as Durrat Al Bahrain and Edamah Company.

Murad stated: “The Northern Governorate has issued 70 building permits this quarter but leads in value due to major projects like high-rise buildings.” He added: “There is optimism about the future of the Southern Governorate, which has attracted significant real estate projects because it is undeveloped land, making planning and organisation easier, thereby creating more real estate opportunities.”

Strong activity

Murad continued: “The Northern Governorate issued 153 building permits, more than double that of the Southern Governorate, indicating strong activity in social housing and residential construction, with many residential plans extending into village areas.”

Murad also noted that the increase in permits in these areas is due to the availability of small plots suitable for buyers, ranging from 170 to 500 square metres.

Regarding economic recovery, he said: “We have moved past the stagnation caused by the COVID-19 crisis,” predicting that the moderate growth in building permits will persist.

Recovery

He commented: “We are seeing recovery in several sectors, particularly leasing, with increased enquiries compared to previous periods.” However, he mentioned that leasing activity has not yet returned to pre-increase levels of electricity and water service fees, and the subsequent tax imposition, but noted moderate growth or stability in various regions.

Murad praised the Real Estate Information Bank developed by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, stating that this enhances market confidence as it provides reliable data from an official source.

The real estate data bank platform’s report (Aqari) for the first quarter indicated that the residential sector had the highest number of building permits with 462, followed by the commercial sector with 56 permits, multi-use with 27 permits, and government projects with 5 permits.