Expats in Oman to buy houses outside ITCs?

We must allow expatriates in Oman to own property outside ITCs under certain conditions.”

That was the message from Mohammed Al Ghassani, Deputy Chairman of Majlis Al Shura, to the Oman Real Estate Conference which opened it doors yesterday. 

“There are expats living here for a very long time. They have accepted Oman as their country and they want to live here. We must open our doors to them. These are people who have served Oman for long and will continue serving the country if we provide them with such facilities.

“Our economy will benefit greatly from this and will play a big role in developing the real estate sector. By not allowing expats, Oman is losing out on a huge opportunity that lies on its doorsteps,” he told Times of Oman.

The conference, organised by the Oman Real Estate Association, is being held at the Hotel Grand Millennium and attended by some of the biggest names in construction in the Sultanate.

Oman’s property market, like others in the GCC, has come under pressure since oil prices declined in recent years but the Shura deputy chairman said he believed this suggestion could bolster the economy.

“There is a lot of money flowing out of Oman. Why don’t we try and keep this money inside the country. If we give expats an option to buy houses, it is their investment and they would not want to leave,” Al Ghassani said.

“There are at least 60,000 to 70,000 expats living in Oman who can spend around OMR 30,000 to OMR50,000 each to avail this option,” he said.

Although Al Ghassani believes there are matters which could affect any change, such as the existing ITC regulations others say issues such as residency and employment status need to be addressed.

“Expats who have lived all life in Oman have the right to get such an option. This can help us improve the economy of the country. We are at very initial stages of discussing this and it will have to follow the whole legislation procedure so we can’t say when this would become law. There are a few issues with it such as residency to expats, which may take time,” Siham Al Harthy, DG of Real Estate Development at Ministry of Housing said referring to difficulties in issuing residency status to expats who invest in the country.

Residents and real estate agents have hailed the proposal calling it as an excellent move if passed.

“I welcome this news and believe it is a positive step to inviting foreign investment into the real estate market in Oman. Some expatriates may not be able to afford to buy a property at some of the higher priced ITC projects but would be attracted to invest their money in a more accessible local property. It would allow more expatriates living and working in Oman to buy the property that they are living in rather than rent it, and encourage them to invest their money in the Sultanate rather than send it overseas. It would benefit current property owners and sellers as it would open up a new segment of potential investors and buyers that were previously inaccessible to them,” Daniel Sellu, Head of Agency at Hamptons said.

“This will do well to absorb the excess supply in the markets and improve Oman’s ratings,” Hisham Moussa, CEO of Alargan Towell said.

“The government should give more facilities to expats so the economy will grow, if the government can give securities to expats investment and money, people will invest in this country. No one will invest if you can’t give securities to their investment,”said Muhammed Arshad, an expat living in Oman.

“Yes it will be a great move for expats and their money which they will invest in their countries they will invest in Oman. Like how Dubai government is doing expats can buy their own properties in Dubai. It will increase the business of Oman,” Atif Dar, a resident said.

“About time, for too long expats have had to pay high prices at places like The Wave, Barr Al Jissah, etc. This would be a great move,” Alex Bradbury, a Western Expat.

A real estate boss said, “This will increase investment in real estate, and money will stay within the country which is good. For expat buyers too it is a good thing because they can own the place and it’s also a good investment for them.”
Source: Timesofoman