Real estate activity saw a rebound in the number and value of transactions during the month of May 2020. More specifically, the number of sale transactions skyrocketed by 422.12% in May to 4,036, with the value of transactions soaring by 330.88% to $1.12 billion. As a result, the average value per transaction dropped by 17.47% month-on-month to $278,151, from $337,050 a month earlier. On a cumulative basis, the number of real estate transactions fell by 0.77% y-o-y to 18,877 transactions in the first five months of 2020, while the value of transactions rose by 52.54% to $3.72 billion. Consequently, the average value per transaction increased by 53.73% y-o-y from $128,145 at end of May 2019 to $196,994 at end of May 2020. The solid performance of the real estate sector owes to a rush by depositors to buy real estate in an attempt to liquidate part of their blocked savings in the banking sector amid the stringent banknotes withdrawal restrictions. It is worth noting that foreigners’ share of sale transactions fell to 1.56% at end of May of the current year, down from 1.97% at end of 2019.

From a geographical standpoint, the average value per real estate transaction in the Beirut region increased by 44.13% to $825,879 by May 2020, up from $573,014 at year-end 2019 with that in the Metn region rising by 27.99% to $260,072. Similarly, the average value per transaction in each of the Kesserwan and Baabda regions came in 25.35% and 23.33% higher at $170,262 and $155,861 respectively.