Land, apartment owners face decreased profits following work suspension

AMMAN — The prices of land have decreased by 10-30 per cent depending on location, President of the Jordan Housing and Development Association (JHDA) Kamal Awamleh said on Sunday.

In a phone call with The Jordan Times, Awamleh said that the prices have dropped due to landowners’ need for liquidity after the coronavirus crisis caused widespread work suspensions.

Apartment owners have also seen profits, which usually range between 5-8 percent, reduced by 10-20 per cent.

“Investors need liquidity to continue to obtain the requirements for their other housing projects, which has forced them to sell their apartments at reduced-profit rates,” Awamleh said. 

The JHDA president said that the sector requires many facilitations, including removing bureaucratic measures to expedite applications and transactions, in addition to the government “taking bold steps to modify legislation and regulations, and encourage investors and citizens to invest in the sector rather than seek alternative markets in other neighbouring countries”.

“The government also needs to study the matter of housing sector workers and reconsider the cost of permits for expatriate workers,” Awamleh said, noting that the sector is both directly and indirectly connected to other sectors.

Trading in the real estate sector in the first two months of this year decreased by 16 per cent compared with the same period in 2019 to stand at JD583 million, according to the latest survey by the Department of Lands and Survey (DLS).

The DLS’ revenues decreased by 34 per cent during the same period to around JD24 million.

Real-estate sales increased by 10 per cent during February, while flat sales increased by 8 per cent and land sales by 11 per cent compared with 2019, according to the DLS.