Government support for the real estate development is high in Bahrain - there is a real effort under way to reduce the state's dependence on oil. The Ministry of Works sees the need for infrastructure to keep pace with the property development and has drawn up a long-term plan with a completion date in 2021. There is also hope that this support will encourage investment in the industry. However, some public infrastructure projects have been delayed and a few put on hold as the ministry looks for private investment to fund the work. The retail market has been encouraged by the introduction and subsequent growth of mortgage products. This marketplace is also opening up to expatriates in the country. However, the absolute level of bank lending is still low. The commercial market is still looking overpopulated and the transitioning environment means it is still hard to tell what counts as 'premium' space. The most popular area is in Seef (reclaimed from the sea less than 20 years ago) but some properties used commercially should not be - including residential apartment developments converted post-completion and offering poorly organised spaces with inadequate parking. Increasing rents have caused changes in use and close to half of all quality apartment properties are now leased for office use, causing access problems. Residential property prices dropped in 2008, seemed to stall at the end of the year, and have been recovering through H109. However, a continuing lack of transparency in the region makes it difficult to fully judge the current state of play. Off-plan residential sales in 2009 appear to have collapsed completely but in June 2009 the announcement that the government plans to build 43,000 homes by 2014 looks positive for the sector. Bahrain is the most mature of the Gulf economies and has shown far more resilience to the economic problems of late than the other states. However, like the others, issues such as immaturity in mortgage lending and lack of real transparency will continue to dog its recovery.
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