SHAFAQNA (Shia News Association) - Real estate transactions in Bahrain rose nearly 60 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2012, the Al-Watan newspaper reported, citing statistics from the Survey and Land Registration Bureau.
Transactions worth BHD317.6m (US$842m) were signed between January and June 2012, a rise of 59 percent, the report said this week.
While local investors accounted for 81 percent of the total deals signed, investors from the GCC accounted for 8.87 percent, or BHD28.2m, while overseas buyers accounted for 10.1 percent or BHD32.1m, the report added.
Bahrain's real estate market, and its overall economic performance, has been attempting to recover from the impact of continuous protests over the past year.
Despite the favourable yearly figures, prime rents in the capital Manama were the worst performing in the world in the first quarter of 2012, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Rents plummeted in Bahrain's capital city by more than 16 percent between December 2011 and March 2012, with Hong Kong the next worst performer with rents falling 4.1 percent.
The index said Manama's rents dropped 20 percent over the past year while Dubai rents were only down 3.9 percent.
The island kingdom, a financial hub where nearly US$9bn in mutual funds is parked, had been rocked in February and March by its worst public unrest since the 1990s.
Source : arabianbusiness
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