“With customers being more demanding and price conscious, they want all facilities like shopping complex, medical centre, and good roads around, in short, a proper infrastructure has to be in place. Also, market being dynamic, planning is crucial for a well rounded development. Investors should look at micro-changes in the market,” says Hassan Mohammed Juma, Managing Director and President, ERA Real Estate – Oman. ROLE OF BANKS While banks in Oman were till recently cautious in the face of the current global climate, they have developed a positive outlook where lending facilities are concerned. To tap the larger market, Zain Property has tied up with Bank Sohar and National Bank of Oman (NBO). For its customers, Bank Sohar is providing
home loan up to 30 years at 7.75 per cent interest with a minimum down payment of 20 per cent. Personal finance is available for projects such as Abraj Azumurud 1, with up to 70 times the basic salary being lent which can be repaid over a period of up to 15 years. Most of the banks do financing based on joint income of partners. A SOCIAL NEED Affordable housing is gradually becoming a social need, where end users will look for quality and design at reasonable prices, though purchasers today have become more judicious in buying property and want its tangible deliverables to give them confidence in the product. In today’s market, occupiers want to pay the right price and not high premiums for properties. They are looking for prices that match their need. Credibility of a project is a major deciding factor
among buyers today. This cautious attitude of people towards purchasing real estate in the Sultanate is what makes a sales agent’s job much more challenging than previous years. It is time for developers to regroup, reassess, re-strategise on selling off plan developments and collecting funds from its investors. The real estate market is going through a period of correction at the moment and will most definitely right itself in due course and will reap the benefits of its cautious measures currently in place. “2010 is the period of rational investment. Good for market,” says Hassan Mohammed Juma in an optimistic tone. Now is the time for zeroing in on developing mass scale housing.
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