Apartments sales rise by 12% after Gov't decisions — official

AMMAN — The "large" increase in apartment sales is attributed to a Cabinet’s decision that stimulated the real estate and housing sector by granting a 50 per cent exemption on registration fees for residential apartments exceeding 150 square meters, an official said on Saturday.

Director General of the Department of Lands and Survey Ahmad Amoush said that the total real estate trading volume in 2024 reached about JD6.7 billion, with expectations for a further increase this year.

Amoush also announced that the department is working on launching a new package of over 22 electronic services as part of its digital transformation plan, aiming to fully automate all services by the end of 2025, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He pointed out that the number of in-person visitors to the department has decreased by 70 per cent, particularly for issuing title deeds (Qushan) and land maps, representing a "significant" leap in streamlining transaction procedures.

The Cabinet decided in November of 2024 to exempt apartments over 150 square metres from 50 per cent of the registration fees.

This is in addition to a previous decision granting 100 per cent of the registration fee exemption for apartments under 150 square metres for first-time buyers.

The government also approved a 50 per cent exemption from property tax (musaqqafat fees) for a period of three years for first-time buyers, in an effort to ease the burden on citizens taking housing loans.

As of the end of April, the total real estate trading volume in the Kingdom reached JD2.047 billion, reflecting a 4 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2024.

The trading volume for April alone amounted to around JD555 million.

Also, revenues during the first third of this year rose by 11 per cent compared with the same period last year, reaching around JD84.5 million.