Beirut ranked 33rd among 92 cities worldwide in 2010 with regard to the cost of an apartment, according to the Global Property Guide annual report on the prices of real estate, up from the 52nd rank it occupied in 2009.
The report said that the Lebanese capital is the most expensive city in the Arab countries to purchase a 120-square meter apartment. It said that the cost of such an apartment jumped from $60,000 in December 2004, to more than $510,000 presently.
While rents have steadily climbed during that period, the report maintains that they failed to reflect the sharp rise in prices. Gross rental yields have declined from 11 percent in 2004, to a little more than three percent at the end of 2010. Return on larger apartments has declined to even below three percent, causing Beirut to lose its attraction for residential property investment, the report said.
The Guide offers information on revenue-generating upscale residential property in various cities globally. The properties surveyed must be located in up market areas and should have been refurbished within the previous five years. The figures that are included for Beirut represent apartments in the areas of Ras Beirut, Verdun, Downtown area, Ashrafieh, Hamra, Jnah and Ramlet al Beida.