Real estate transactions down, but values up

The real estate sector continued to exhibit signs of weakness in August, with the number of real estate transactions standing at 5,809, relatively unchanged from the mediocre 5,814 level recorded in July. On a cumulative basis, the number of real estate transactions fell by 9.50 percent year-over-year to 46,011 through August down from 50,841 during the same period last year. The value of real estate transactions, however, increased by 9.53 percent in August to $700 million up from $640 million in July. Moreover, the aggregate value of real estate transactions gained 4.95 percent on an annual basis to $5.49 billion during the first eight months of 2012 compared to $5.23 billion in the same period in 2011. Consequently, the average value of a real estate transaction came in 15.97 percent higher at $119,299, for the year to date, when compared to last year’s $102,870 reading. The share of foreigners in real estate sales transactions stood at 1.90 percent of total sales activity down from 1.91 percent in July yet remains higher than last year’s 1.81 percent stake. From DailyStar