After years of acute housing shortage, the supply-demand gap is narrowing in Qatar, said the property consultant Landmark Advisory in a survey.
"The situation is already reversing," said Jesse Downs, the director of research and advisory services. "The assumption was that Qatar's booming economy, based on petroleum exports, had attracted large inflows of expatriate professionals. However, this assumption does not bear close scrutiny."
According to the Landmark's Qatar Real Estate Report for the second quarter, Qatar's petroleum industry employs only 5 per cent of all expatriates, but accounts for roughly 70 per cent of GDP. "Since a large portion of construction workers live in labour compounds, they do not contribute to demand for individual housing units. So, it is misleading to assume that Qatar's recent population growth is matched by a comparable increase in residential demand."
The changes in the supply/demand ration has already been reflected by market-wide price declines. The report shows that between mid-Q408 and end-Q109, average sale prices in areas where foreigners can purchase properties fell 25 per cent to 30 per cent.
"The declines were heavily weighted toward The Pearl, where average unit prices dropped 35 per cent, indicating a sharp fall in demand from foreign investors," said Ms Downs. Average prices for units in the Zig Zag Towers and Lusail also declined, but only 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Turning to the rental market, average villa rents fell 15-20 per cent in the first two months of 2009, while apartment rents remained stable.
According to the report, Doha is undersupplied by 1,500 units but expects delivery of 33,000 units by 2012.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950