publish time

24/10/2022

author name Arab Times

publish time

24/10/2022

Mismatch between supply and demand

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 24: A report by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences shows 20% of Kuwaitis live in apartments inside private housing, indicating that the main problem of the housing issue, which constitutes a difficult file inherited by successive governments “does not only lie in the long wait for housing care and the inability to bear the cost of land in the private market, but also due to mismatch between supply and demand, because the available housing that the residents can afford is not desired by the citizens, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The report by KFAS report summarizes the challenges facing Kuwaiti society and the government in the housing sector, with the aim of transforming the local dialogue on housing from a dialogue limited to granting the state lands for allocation for housing purposes, to a more comprehensive discussion about the impact of the current housing model on the economy, the environment and life of people.

Challenges
In its report, titled “Housing for Kuwaitis, a Reading of the Existing Model and Its Consequences on Affordability of Housing and Quality of Life,” KFAS drew attention to ignoring the process of developing land for residential purposes, and not paying attention to “improving the lives of citizens, at the level of residential neighborhoods that have suffered from the low public spaces and facilities, the scarcity of green spaces and the lack of walkways, where Kuwait ranks low in many indicators of livability in cities, which shows the challenges facing the city in the competition to attract global investments, talents and tourists.

The sources pointed out that the housing problem in Kuwait “is not only in the long wait for requests for housing care and the inability to afford the cost of land in the private market, but also in the mismatch between supply and demand, because the available housing that residents can afford is not desirable.” The report went on to say, the housing offered in the market is either at prices that middle-income families cannot afford (private housing), or it is undesirable because of its location and type, which is intended for investment housing