Real Estate Bahrain?

Last night I read a heated debate over at “Mahmoods Den” about the real estate market here in Bahrain and the affect it may or may not have on the Bahraini society. Mahmood pointed out that many projects can be of benefit for the society whereas a person commented under the name of “Hassan Alkhuzaei” claimed that the current real estate boom had many negative effects on society and that the Bahraini people need more opportunities, not more projects…. well it’s just a short summary of what can be read.

Now, I will not get into details but reading this was interesting since I myself am an “expat” selling projects such as the ones mentioned. I love my job but like I have mentioned before it saddens me to see huge projects coming up. I am a fan of old buildings and neighborhoods with character and soul. These new projects are soulless and dead in my opinion (not saying that I don’t like any projects but look at Juffair for a bad example) . That isn’t relevant for the economy but anyway.

Me no like
(Fontana Towers)

Yes anyway.
What do I see in my line of work in regards to this?
I see land prizes increasing drastically every month.
I see people playing the property game buying one property for 90 000 BD only to sell it a couple of months later for 100 000 BD or more.
I see the same people making 7000 BD in one day from a newly acquired unit.

I meet Bahrainis that wants to buy for investment or living but cannot afford asking me to contact them when something suitable comes up. I will.

I meet people that say it saddens them to tell their kids they will not have their own bedroom (ever) because daddy can’t afford it even though he is working full time as a manger in a store. Sorry kid, you have to share with your three brothers.

I see prices shooting up over night.
Owners aggressively pushing the prices up.
Buyers withdrawing due to sudden price increases.

It’s a crazy market if you ask me.

I have asked Bahrainis what they think of the boom that is going on. Some, working in real estate think it is a great thing without touching on the social effects it may have, only financial. Others are worried about what this will do to their society and what will be left of the country the grew up in.

Now something I am wondering is… Why are there so few Bahrainis selling property? I mean, there is a lot of money to be made in this line of business yet when I ask people that are looking for work they are simply not interested in doing it. I have asked managers of real estate companies why they have no Bahrainis on their teams (some don’t even have ONE Arabic speaking person) and they all answer that Bahrainis start and then they leave after a couple of months. Some even point out that they have no intentions of staying.
It just puzzles me when I know that many young people are on such low wages. Working in real estate kicks ass most of the time to be honest.

It was commented on Mahmoods blog that sometimes companies hire Bahrainis just to get visas for expats and I can confirm that this indeed happens. I have heard more than one person mention that this is how it is done.

Conclusion.
None.

I’m homesick yes.