FINANCIAL NEWS

GCC efforts for affordable housing hindered by high land prices

14 Dec 2011

(MENAFN) Real estate consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle said GCC governments’ efforts to tackle affordable housing shortages are hindered by the rising land prices, Arabian Business reported.

Craig Plumb, head of research for the MENA region at Jones Lang LaSalle, said that the land prices reached a level where developers can’t make any money out of developing affordable housing.

The real estate consultancy firm added that the lack of utilities and infrastructure in areas reserved for urban housing made it financially impractical for developers to cover their costs.

The Middle East and North Africa has an estimated affordable housing shortfall of 3.5 million with nearly half in Egypt, Jones Lang LaSalle said in September.

Saudi Arabia topped GCC in housing shortfall in the Gulf of 400,000 homes followed by 40,000 homes in Bahrain, 20,000 in the UAE and 15,000 in Oman.

Plumb said that a partnership between public and private sectors, like those already trialed in Morocco and Turkey, could help resolve the problem.

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