Luxury apartments
low sales, higher prices

Seaside and Downtown districts are the most expensive

Luxury apartments are offered for sale in Beirut at above $5,000 per square meters (m2) and in some upscale areas reach $7,000/m2 or more.

These high-end apartments are mainly located in the Downtown and in seaside areas such as Raouche, Ain El Mreisseh, Zaitunay Bay, and the tower and restaurant district between Phoenicia Hotel and Beirut Souks.

“Demand for real estate has increased to a certain extent thanks to the improvement in the security situation. There is demand for luxury apartments and for small ones too, but this doesn’t always materialize into a sale contract. The sales volume is still low,” said Joe Kanaan, CEO of S-Gestion.

According to Walid Eido, a real estate broker and consultant, most buyers are Lebanese, around 80 percent of them are expats. There are a few Syrian buyers, but virtually none from the Gulf region so far.

First-time occupant apartments are extremely rare. Payment is being made in cash, typically through transfers abroad.