Property taxes up by 50% in September  

          Property taxes registered LP 29.2 billion in September 2004, up by 50% from the level reported over the corresponding month of the previous year, stemming from the pick-up in economic activity in general and the improvement in construction activity in particular.

          Figures released by the Directorate of Real Estate showed that the total number of transactions in real estate have recorded 10,601 operations in September 2004, up by 10.5% from the corresponding month of the previous year. 

          The number of sales operations increased as well by 7.6% to 4,901 in September 2004. On a cumulative level, property taxes amounted to LP 213.4 billion over the first nine months of 2004, up by a significant 36.8% from the corresponding period of the previous year, reflecting the strong performance of the sector since the beginning of the year, especially over the summer season. The value of property transactions also went up significantly by about 22% to reach LP 2.8 billion during nine months of 2004 when compared to the same period of the previous years.

          The cumulative number of transactions reported an increase of 6.0% registering a total of 83,994, while the number of sales operations gained 5.7% over the same period and numbered 36,236. The geographical distribution of property taxes over the first nine months of 2004 showed that Beirut had the highest share in property taxes of 37.5%, followed by Baabda with 21.6%, Metn with 15.4%, Kesrouan with 8.3%, the North with 6.8% and the Bekaa with 4.2%.

          The progression in the value of property transactions was significantly higher than the growth in the number of property transactions, outlining the concentration in expensive real estate, which translates the Arab and Gulf demand for upper-end residential market. As a result, the average property transaction value rose by around 15.1% in the first nine months of 2004 relative to the 2003 corresponding period.