Cost of living: Renting property in Qatar

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Cost of living: Renting property in Qatar

1br flat in Al Hilal, 1 toilet, sitting room, kitchen Qr 4,500/month ($1,200) For enquiry, please contact...

2br flat in Salwa Road 2 bathrooms, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, covered parking Qr 9,000/month ($2,500) Call...

Furnished villa, 4 bedroom in Luqtah area near Qatar foundation Rent: Qr 20,000/month ($5,500) Call...

Unfurnished villa 5 bedrooms + garden covered parking West Bay area Qr 30,000/month ($8,000) Call...

The above ads have been gleaned from newspapers and and online ads. You can find chepaer, but you'll need to look around.

It will come to no surprise to long term Qatar residents that rents have risen by 83% over the last two years (Peninsula 12/6/2006). This is compared to 60% in Dubai. For expats who don't have their accomodation provided by their employer, rents are increasingly difficult to pay, and have lead an increasing number of people to either send their families home and move into a single room or to leave the country.

Many workers are now forced by prices to share rooms. I know of one Indian man who used to share a room with 5 other people. Now he is looking again. When he came back to Doha after two months back in India, the block of flats where he had lived had been demolished.

Some Qatar based economists have been forecasting that rents, inflated by the huge influx of people preparing Qatar for the Asian Games, will soon fall substantially. If they do not, wages will either have to rise or people without housing provided will start leaving Qatar. (See Expat business men pin hopes on rent fall after Asian Games.)

For an idea of property prices in Qatar have a look at Rental property online . You could also have a look in Qatar Living, or once you are in Qatar, have a look at the classifieds sections of the local newspapers.

Also see:

Qatar Property