Muscat: The decision to offer flats for sale in select areas of Muscat to non-Omanis has been welcomed by expats in the Sultanate. Perpetual succession, resale and availability of bank loans from any bank with no down payment have been lauded by people from various walks of life. An official said the Ministry of Housing would clarify on continuation of residency permit for buyers later.
"There will not be any down payment for loans to buy flats in multistorey buildings. This announcement is for the existing units only and for lease for 50 years with an option for renewal", Saleem Hassan al Balushi, Deputy Director General of Real Estate Development at the Ministry of Housing, told the Observer.
"These houses are offered to those who already have residency permits and a visa. There have been many queries about this new rule and a lot will be clarified soon via twitter account of the ministry of Housing," Al Balushi added
However, some raised the concerns on availing residency permits to continue living in these flats as the announcement was not very clear on this point.
"The main concern is on residency permit after buying the flat here", said Azra Aleem, who has been living here for more than 40 years.
"For those who live in the Sultanate for many years, buying a house on loan is not a bad thing but continuity is a grey area which needs to be clarified,” others said.
As per a ministerial decision of 2012, expatriates in Oman were allowed to buy properties only in Integrated Tourism Projects.
The present decision to allow ownership of properties for non-Omanis outside ITCs will have a major impact as expatriates officially constitute around 41 per cent of the total population, with a sizable number of potential buyers.
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