39pc fall in properties to GCC nationals

Muscat: The total number of properties issued to citizens of GCC countries by the end of June this year stood at 490, with a decrease of 39.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2018.

According to data from National Center for Statistics and Information, properties issued to Omani nationals reached 109,742, showing a decrease of 5.4 per cent during the same period.

While the traded value of property in the Sultanate hit RO 1.249 billion, it reached RO 158 million in June alone.

At the same time, the collected fees exceeded RO 5,753,000 and the total number of trading activities 28,534 including sale, donation, inheritance, swap, mortgage, mortgage redemption, utilization, division, and deed stamping.

Abdullah al Mukhaini, Secretary of the Land Registry in the Ministry of Housing, said that the number of sale deeds decreased to 29,439 with a cash value of more than RO 486.908 million compared to the corresponding period in 2018.

He added that the transactions of mortgage contracts that took place in the real estate registry departments during the period from January to June of this year amounted to 8,141 contracts with a monetary value of more than RO 751,735 million.

The fees collected amounted to more than RO 5,693 million compared to the same period last year which amounted to 8,794 contracts and the value of cash more than RO 919,904 million. There was a decrease in the number of contracts by 7 per cent, as well as in the total value by 18 per cent, while there was an increase in fees collected by 2 per cent.

He pointed out that the sales transactions in North Al Batinah Governorate recorded the highest percentage compared to the rest of the Sultanate governorates last month, with a total of 909 sales, followed by South Al Batinah with 651 transactions.

The Muscat Governorate recorded 636 sale transactions, then Al Dakhiliyah with 514 sales, North Al Sharqiyah with 403, then South Al Sharqiyah  with 355, Al Dhahirah with 222 sales, Dhofar with 213, Al Buraimi with 123, Al Wusta 91, and finally 36 sale transactions  recorded in Musandam.