Hamad Alwazzan - CEO and Small Business Owner in Lebanon

  The pandemic created a frantic real estate market in much of the United States that has yet to let up, with demand for housing still outpacing the number of homes coming on the market.  “For the last two years, sellers had a heavy upper hand in most of the country, however things are about to change”, says Hamad Al Wazzan, a real estate expert.   He says that the market has started to cool off a bit In the summer of 2021.   “I believe that this a sign that the wild price appreciations of the past year may have scared off some buyers who prefer to wait until things calm down, to stay put or to continue renting. There’s a lot of buyer sticker shock, people who are a little more investment oriented or who maybe already own a home have pulled back” added Hamad AlWazzan “If prices have gone up 20 percent and then dip 2 percent, it’s not the end of the world. It may also signal the return to a normal seasonal dip with many schools back in-person and delayed summer vacations finally und

  Hamad AL Wazzan The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 and the current COVID-19 pandemic invite comparison with the Great Depression and global influenza crisis of the first half of the 20th century. So is it farfetched to suggest that the world could be in for an extra dose of optimism and progress in the 2020s – much like what occurred in the 1920s? We asked real estate entrepreneur Hamad AlWazzan to shed the light on this issue.   “Glimmers of pent-up demand began to appear during the summer months of 2020, with shopping centers and popular brands reporting large queues and the need for crowd management. This was short-lived – infections surged once more, stores had to reclose, and lockdown measures resumed”, he explained. According to Hamad AlWazzan, despite increased inequalities between socio-economic groups in 2020, many consumers felt far better off than previously.   “Spending on commuting costs, leisure activities, and annual holidays plummeted. And savings ratios

Due to the temporarily limited international and domestic migration caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the real estate market is forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024 with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City mostly set to benefit from this property interest surge, according to real estate expert Hamad AlWazzan. ¨Gulf cities are the Middle East's mobility leaders, each with net migration rates projected to exceed 8 percent over the next five years. The continued economic growth in the Middle East has allowed key markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait to focus their efforts on improving their residential and commercial infrastructure, which has been greatly aided by government initiatives such as Dubai's Vision 2040 and Abu Dhabi's Vision 2030¨, explained Hamad AlWazzan. He believes that this has increased investor interest in the region. ¨Restrictions have been lifted and daily consumer activity has resumed, the increased availability of retail and leis