The total value of property transactions in the Sultanate till the end of December 2018 surged by 1.2% to reach OMR2,641.1 billion from OMR2,609.4 billion for the same period of 2017, as indicated by the preliminary statistics issued by (NCSI).

As for plots issued till the end of December 2018, the number stood at 223,492, which is a decline of 0.9% from the end of December 2017, when 225,468 plots were issued.  Sultanate's government collected OMR85 million as real estate transaction fees during January-December 2018, which is 8.1% higher compared to the same period of the previous year.  Of the total traded value till the end of December 2018, OMR1,002 million worth transactions were sales contracts, while OMR1,623 billion transactions were mortgage deals. As many as 58,828 sales contracts were executed in the 12-month period of 2018 against 59,480 contracts during the same period of 2017. However, the total number of mortgage contracts fell by 13.9% to reach 16,027 against 18,619 contracts in 2017.  NCSI data reveal a significant fall in traded value of exchange (barter) contracts by 24.0% during the January-December 2018 period to OMR16.0 million, as against OMR21.1 million posted in the comparable period of the previous year. The number of barter contracts witnessed a rise of 41.5% to 1,527, compared to 1,079 contracts in 2017.

The number of plots allocated to GCC citizens surged by 15.3% to reach 1,396 plots compared to 1,211 plots during the same period of 2017, the data showed. 

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