Real estate activity rallied during the last month of the year 2019, with the number of sale transactions increasing by 87.55% on a monthly basis to 6,189 and the value of transactions expanding by 121.93% to $1.10 billion. As a result, the average value per transaction rose by 18.33% month-on-month to $177,782, from $150,238 in November. This may be explained by the inclination of large depositors to liquidate part of their savings and invest in real estate properties coupled with investors flocking to register their properties before year-end in fear of an appreciation in their properties’ rental values and possibly higher registration fees in the subsequent year. However, and on a cumulative basis, the number of real estate transactions plunged by 17.07% y-o-y to 50,352 transactions during the year 2019, with the value of transactions dipping by 15.92% to $6.84 billion. Consequently, the average value per transaction expanded by 1.38% y-o-y to $135,828 at end of year 2019, from $133,977 a year earlier. It is worth noting that foreigners’ share of sale transactions stood at 1.97% by December 2019, down from 2.00% at end of 2018.

From a geographical standpoint, the average value per real estate transaction in the Beirut region increased by 12.43% to $573,014 by end of year 2019, up from $509,659 at year-end 2018 with that in the Metn region remaining almost stable at $203,204. Conversely, the average value per transaction in each of the Kesserwan and Baabda regions plummeted by 10.27% and 6.55% to $135,833 and $126,381 respectively.