attract investors, the “challenge” of real estate agents in Beirut

In a neighborhood of Beirut nor “very, very upscale, not popular, middle class”, Guillaume Boudisseau, real estate agent in Lebanon for 15 years, shows a three-room apartment of 150 square meters with a balcony, at 1,400 euros per square meter. It’s half the price of two years ago. “A living room with an open kitchen already equipped and a central island. It’s a good product. Now we have to find the customer”.

Lebanon, which is hosting an IMF delegation on Monday January 17 in the hope of relaunching negotiations on a rescue plan, has been experiencing the worst economic and financial crisis in its history since 2019. The currency has lost 90% of its value, three quarters of the population have fallen into poverty and buyers are scarce.

In the country of the Cedars but also abroad, within the Lebanese diaspora, deplores Guillaume Boudisseau: “There is a certain fear in relation to the country’s security, political and economic situation. Political instability is constant. Electricity is becoming a nightmare. Having water is becoming very complicated The Lebanese pound is plummeting. Today, it’s a challenge, a challenge to find buyers. That’s undeniable.”

Difficult to sell and even more difficult to rent. Downtown Beirut, rebuilt after the civil war, was the showcase of a Lebanon that wanted to be prosperous with its offices, restaurants, luxury stores and international brands. Today, it is a ghost district, a showcase of the country’s collapse. “Here, before, there was a shop, it closed. This one also closed. This one closed again. In the corner there, There was a very beautiful exhibition, it closed. there are no more merchants knowing that two and a half years ago, it was a must to have a shop available in this district.”

“Today I have maybe a hundred shops to rent, but unfortunately I don’t have anyone.”

Guillaume Boudisseau, real estate agent

at franceinfo

To get Lebanon out of the doldrums, international aid exists. In August 2021, a year after the double explosion at the port of Beirut, several countries including France and the United States pledged to pay 370 million euros to the population. But the structural aid that the country needs is conditional on a minimum of reforms, transparency and the fight against corruption. Reforms that the sectarian parties in power claim to defend, but which they have actually prevented so far.