Oman posted the Gulf's fastest-rising index and one of its most restrictive ownership regimes at the same time. The National Centre for Statistics and Information reported the residential price index rose 18.7% year on year in Q3 2025, with apartments up 22.4%, villas up 16.5%, and residential land up 19.6%.
Access is the constraint
Foreign ownership is restricted to Integrated Tourism Complexes, Al Mouj Muscat, Muscat Bay, Jebel Sifah, and Muscat Hills, under Royal Decree 12/2006, with freehold or 99-year usufruct. Royal Decree 29/2018 restricts non-Omani ownership elsewhere. The relaunched Golden Residency, from August 2025, requires OMR 200,000 (around USD 520,000) for 10-year renewable residency.
Tight supply, real value
New-build supply is limited, roughly 5,000 to 6,000 units a year against Muscat's population growth from 1.6 million toward 2.2 million by 2035. Prices range USD 2,100 to 4,400 per square meter, well below the UAE. There is no annual property tax on owner-occupied homes, only a 3% municipality tax on rental income.
What anchors the next phase
Sultan Haitham City, the flagship smart city west of Muscat, and the Duqm Waterfront anchor new development, while green-hydrogen and renewable-energy investment is creating a new professional tenant class. Oman Vision 2040 drives diversification, with the non-oil economy already above 35% of GDP. The question for investors is whether access widens beyond the tourism complexes to match the demand the numbers imply.