Market Study of the Residential, Office, Retail and Hotel Market in Karbala, Iraq

• The growing GDP reflects growing economy in the years to with CAGR of 12.94%. This increase in GDP reflects the increase in the value of national output and national expenditure. The economic growth will eventually lead to Higher wages, Higher living standards, lower government borrowing, improved public services, better infrastructure and stronger purchasing power.
•  The rise in inflation in the coming years shows the rise goods and services, which shows the rise in purchasing power of Iraq. There is a huge demand for products of all kinds from financial services to consumer goods and transport, not to mention a rapidly increasing consumption of fuel for transport and electricity for domestic use.
• The Population of Karbala is growing year on year with an average growth rate of 2.9%. As security in the region is restored, with extensive security measures across the region, the population has moved in from other neighboring provinces and other nations to find their living in Karbala.
• Since the political and economic conditions in Karbala have stabilized from the past 5 years, an increasing number of investors have shown interest in the construction sector of Karbala. The current suppliers are mainly from, Turkey, China, Korea, Canada and Local Iraqi government. Few investments are joint ventures with the local government and the rest are independent investment such as Durrat Karbala from Turkish company.
• The hotel rooms and hotel guests have increased year on year, rapidly, as Shiite Muslim population across the world seek to pay pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines of Karbala. The number of budget hotels, holds major share in accommodating the tourist visiting Karbala each year. The number of rooms are increasing with a steady CAGR of 20.8% each year, witnessing an increase in hotel rooms from 29100 to 37918 in a period of one year with around 17995 rooms rent by local residents.

Table of Content:

Detailed residential market overview of Karbala

• Understand the Client’s Objectives:
  • Obtain a detailed briefing from the Client on the envisaged concept. Identify key stakeholders in the Project and have a clear view of the Client’s expectations
  • Develop the project charter, which outlines the dates, tasks and responsibilities of Jones Lang LaSalle team members as well the Client responsibilities
• Government data, demographics and market initiatives – Karbala
  • Household size & projections, proposed resident growth & habits
  • Income and expenditure patterns, where available
  • Vision and initiatives for the short to medium term
  • Government initiatives and planned / proposed projects
  • List of planned / approved infrastructure / development projects
• Market Assessment – Residential market, Karbala
  • Existing stock & future supply, to be defined by type of product in terms of ages, bedroom and quality.
  • Supply and demand commentary; Market Trends and Observations
  • Unique selling points and critical success factors of residential products
  • Key market indicators (rents / sales prices / occupancy rates/pictures)
  • Conclusions: Where are the gaps in the market? (high income, middle income, high quality, low quality, etc.)

High level understanding of the retail, office and hotel market overview of Karbala

• Target Markets
  • This section will shed light on existing and potential source markets of demand and will be based on desk-based research highlighting the main markets of concentration of the relevant target segment
  • Identify observed trends and end user requirements
  • Regulatory restrictions and potential implications / restrictions on the identified target markets
  • Interviews with real estate agents, developers and operators in order to obtain insights about the nature of demand
• Affordability Analysis
  • Income distribution of the resident population based on the government data and estimates drawn (as may be required), mortgage terms and eligibility of various income segments
• Market Assessment – retail, office and hotel market – Karbala
  • Existing stock & future supply, based on availably of published information and transparency of market information.
  • Supply and demand commentary
  • Key market indicators (rents / sales prices / ADR’s / occupancy rates/pictures)
  • Conclusions: market outlook / market opportunity