Bahrain has registered an uptick in the real estate transaction volumes in the kingdom for FY 2023 with its total soaring to 9,362 in Q4 2023, according to global real estate advisory firm CBRE.

 

This marks a 65.4% year-on-year growth and a 82% QoQ jump compared to Q3 2023, stated the report citing Survey and Land Registration Bureau (SLRB) data. 

 

On the residential sector, the real estate specialist said the average apartment sales rates across the kingdom grew by 2.5% from 2022 to 2023. Villa sales rates based on title deed area declined marginally by 0.44% YoY in 2023 overall. 

 

In the rental market, mid- to high-end quoted apartment rates fell by 1.7% in the year to Q4 2023. Over the same period, mid- to high-end villa rates remained relatively stable, witnessing only a marginal 0.1% decline, said CBRE in its Bahrain Real Estate Market Review Q4 2023.

 

Looking at the kingdom’s office sector, the property expert said the rental rates remained stable in 2023, with Grade A rents sitting at BD5.98 per sqm per month on average. 

 

Vacancy rates have stabilised and seen a small improvement based on growth in the workforce as well as reduced development and new additions of Grade A properties to the market. There are a number of new office buildings scheduled to open in 2024, including Sayacorp Tower and Seef Boulevard. 

 

Should these openings go ahead as scheduled, the total supply of office space in Bahrain will increase by 1.1% in 2024, it stated.

 

On the hospitality sector, CBRE said the key performance indicators demonstrated improvement in 2023. 

 

The average hotel occupancy in Manama was up by 5.1% compared to 2022. Over this period, although Manama’s ADR fell by 2.7% to an average of BD61.0, its RevPAR increased by 1.9%, stated the property expert citing STR Global’s data.

 

Bahrain as a whole performed similarly, with its occupancy rate increasing by 4.4% and ADRs falling by 2.2%, resulting in RevPARs increasing by 2.1%. 

 

December saw the opening of Bahrain’s first Raffles property. The converted property, previously Al Areen Palace & Spa, offers 78 private pool villas ranging from one to three bedrooms plus five F&B outlets, it added.

 

On the retail sector, CBRE’s biannual retail occupancy survey for H2 2023 showed marginal growth for the third consecutive period. 

 

The second half saw the average occupancy increase by 1.0 percentage point across CBRE’s set of 20 tracked malls in Bahrain. Average tracked rental rates declined by over 4% in 2023 and we anticipate that the increasing supply, across all segments from neighbourhood plazas to destination malls, will increase pressure on landlords to provide more competitive commercial terms in the coming period.

 

Heather Longden, Director - Advisory & Transactions, at CBRE in Bahrain said: "It is encouraging to see the increase in volume of transactions for 2023, despite the decline in total value."

 

"While performance is generally muted across sectors, the residential apartment segment has seen an uptick in average sales rates achieved for 2023, which is indicative of the quality of supply that continues to be developed," remarked Longden.

 

"Hotel performance has shown signs of further recovery with increased occupancy rates. We anticipate a challenging time ahead for the office and retail sectors, however, there will be opportunity for landlords providing quality product and service, with competitive commercial terms to outperform," she added.-TradeArabia News Service