In its latest economic brief on the monthly statistics of registered real estate contracts issued by the Ministry of Justice, excluding sales conducted through agents, National Bank of Kuwait reports that real estate sales  bounced back in September following significant drop in August. A total of 276 sales transactions were registered at a value of KD123.9 million. Compared to August, units sold were still down 18% but sales value rose by 31.6%.

NBK reported that growth in September came largely from increase in activity in the apartments and commercial property which saw sales value rise by 69%. Growth in September came largely from increase in activity in apartments and commercial property which sales volume rise by 69%. This jump may have been caused by a small number of big transactions. In contrast, sales volume of residential property declined by 14%. Those figures were lower compared to a year ago, by 60% in number of unit sold and by 41% in value.

NBK noted that real estate sales have fallen noticeably thus far in 2008, with the average value of sales during the first nine months of the year 28% lower than the same period last year. The number of transactions was also 32% lower. Most of the decline in sales during the period occurred in residential property with their value and unit sales down by 36% and 38%, respectively. Meanwhile, average prices have seen notably mixed results during the first nine months and reveal a clear slowdown from recent years.

While they were 2.3% higher for residential property, they actually declined by 17% for apartments and commercial property.

According to NBK, loans approved by the Savings and Credit Bank (SCB) saw strong growth during September, increasing by 28% in number and 48% in value compared to previous month. The value of loans approved during the month of KD26 million was the highest in thirty six months. SCB approved 567 loans in September, compared to a monthly average of 378 in 2007. The number of loans approved for the construction of new homes increased by 67%, portending support for residential construction in the near term. Meanwhile, the value of loans disbursed fell 3.2% in September KD11.7 million. Total amounts disbursed thus far in 2008 are down by 23% compared to the same period last year.