Real Estate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Real Estate - Research Paper Example In tandem with some good prospects for other GCC states, such as Qatar which is expected to benefit from the real estate boom fueled by its hosting of the World Cup in 2022, Kuwait is seen as enjoying a boost to its real estate sector in general moving forward, with positive signs in 2012. Of the three segments, residential, investment and commercial segments in Kuwait, it is the residential sector that has seen much growth in 2012, followed by the investment segment, and with the commercial segment trailing and exhibiting problems and poorer prospects overall relative to the residential and investment segments of the Kuwaiti real estate sector (Ejaz). Taking a step back, prior to the financial crisis of 2007-2008, it is worth noting that prospects for the Kuwaiti real estate sector were seen as very good by the mainstream investing public, with the real estate sector seen as being one of the key pillars of the Kuwaiti economy, together with oil and the Kuwaiti stock exchange. As it is at present, in 2007 the residential segment of the sector was seen as leading the charge of growth, with the investment segment behind it, and the commercial segment seen as doing relatively well too, during that time, with growth at an compounded annual growth rate of 18.8 percent for the period from 2000 all the way to 2006. We can see, moreover, that from the way the literature has segmented the Kuwaiti real estate sector, that industrial real estate translates to commercial real estate roughly, as this is the segment of the sector that is allotted to businesses. The investment segment, on the other hand, pertain to those properties that are allocated to being rented out to foreigners and other entities within the Kuwait society (Global Investment House KSCC). Moreover, taking the entire discussion in the context of the situation of the real estate availability in Kuwait, one sees that because of the government mandate to provide property/housing for all citizens of Kuwait, an d owing to the fact that just a tenth of the total land in the country is available for real estate activities, that two things are evident. One is that residential or non-industrial real estate dominates activities in Kuwait. Two is that there is less emphasis conversely on the industrial real estate sector in Kuwait, with Kuwaiti real estate firms focused instead on venturing into nearby regions for industrial real estate development due to the lack of land for such purposes in Kuwait. On the other hand, government is in charge of most of the industrial real estate development in the country, it seems, from the way the government has been spearheading the very large industrial projects in Silk City and in the islands of Failaka and Bubiyan, with the goal of uplifting the state of industrial development in Kuwait to make it on even terms with the level of business real estate development in the other GCC countries (Zawya). There are prospects for industrial real estate activities w ithin the free trade zone known as the Kuwait Free Trade Zone or KFTZ, which had been in operation since 1999, and have about 90 percent occupancy rates for companies who have on paper come to enjoy some of the benefits that do not accrue