Kuwait's Al Ahmadi sees strongest rental growth
KUWAIT CITY, May 12: Al Ahmadi apartments showed the strongest 6-month rental growth among governorates in Kuwait, with average rents for one-bedroom and two-bedroom units increasing by 6% and 10.9% over the last half-year to Q1 2025, according to Kuwait-based prop-tech company Sakan. Sakan's data, which is based on its online listings database and excludes properties promoted offline, showed mixed results for the apartment market, with average rents of areas near the capital softening over the last three and six months leading to Q1. In Hawally Governorate, the average rents of 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom-listed flats decreased by 7%, 3%, and 1% respectively when compared to Q4 2024. Al Asimah's 2BR and 3BR average rents decreased by double digits. From a 6-month perspective, Hawally's and Al Asimah's rental markets have both seen downward performance. Hawally apartment rents for 1BR and 4BR apartments have remained the same, while those of 2BR and 3BR have declined by 2% and 4% respectively. Al Asimah apartments have shown similar patterns except for the 1BR category, whose average rent improved by 2% over the last half-year. But while areas near the capital have generally seen lower rents, Al Ahmadi's apartment sector saw an upward trend, driven by higher lease rates in Mahboula and Fintas districts. Among governorates, Ahmadi apartments have shown the best quarter-on-quarter performance in terms of rents, growing by 3%, 11%, and 10% for the 1BR, 2BR, and 3BR categories, respectively.
Nearly 12,000 housing units turned over in 2024
The movement in rents can be attributed to a variety of events that have shaped Kuwait's residential leasing sector over the last six months. After the Mangaf fire, the government has cracked down on overcrowding in residential properties. At the same time, the leasing sector is seeing the effects of the massive residential construction boom sweeping across Kuwait, driven by the government's housing program. In 2024, the Public Authority for Housing Welfare distributed 11,897 housing units in Kuwait and issued 32,204 building permits in key residential projects, namely Mutlaa, South Abdullah Al-Mubarak, and South Khaitan. Anecdotes suggest that apartments which were rented by families waiting for their homes are now having challenges finding tenants. Home ownership is expected to increase in the forthcoming years with the anticipated introduction of the Mortgage Law, which will allow commercial lenders to provide housing loans. Once implemented, the Law is seen to encourage more lending activity in the housing sector, create a more competitive market, and potentially enable more citizens to own homes.
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