Press release
Bahrain H1 Real Estate Market Review: Resilience and Adaptation in a dynamic market
CBRE releases its Bahrain Real Estate Market Review for H1 2025
September 9, 2025
Associated Contact
Inci Gecekuşu
Head of Marketing & Communications - MENA
CBRE Middle East, the global leader in commercial real estate services, released its latest edition of the Bahrain Real Estate Market Review for the first half of 2025. The report highlights that Bahrain's transaction volumes are growing, whilst there is limited significant change in sectoral performance across those aspects tracked by CBRE.
A total of 13,452 real estate transactions were registered in H1 2025, marking a 16.4% increase as compared to H1 2024. Transaction values increased by 3.9% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, amounting to a total of BHD775.2 million.
Looking at the Residential Sector, CBRE Bahrain’s analysis of market dynamics reveals mixed performance. Average actual apartment sale rates fell by -2.0% in H1 2025 compared to H2 2024, with villa rates also declining by -2.3% following a period of marginal increases. Despite this, the demand for affordable housing remains strong, with a total of 2,584 applications for housing financing schemes approved during the first half of 2025. While quoted apartment rents saw a marginal increase of 1.0% for the first time following a period of consistent declines, the trend of marginal yet continual decline continued for villas with average quoted rates falling by -1.0%.
In the Retail Sector, average occupancy across CBRE's set of 21 tracked retail centers (Super Regional to Regional Category) decreased by -1.9% from H2 2024 to 66.9% in H1 2025. This adjustment is largely attributed to the addition of notable leasable area within the set, with the completion and opening of Avenues Phase 2 during H1. Given this addition, despite increases or no change in occupancy in half of the malls tracked, the average occupancy across the set was forced down. These major market entries continue to put pressure on smaller retail centres to diversify in order to drive footfall. Super Regional malls now account for 29% of the total retail GLA in Bahrain, whilst regional malls account for the largest share at 37%.
Average rental rates in the Office Sector remained constant from H2 2024 to H1 2025, as the market contends with a continued supply stream and limited growth in demand from new market entrants. According to CBRE Bahrain’s research, average Grade A & B office rates remain at BD5.1/sqm/month across tracked locations. Pre-fitted offices are experiencing higher demand, as measured by enquiry volume, compared to shell and core. This trend is driven by prospective tenants prioritising immediate occupancy and minimising initial capital expenditure. A growing interest in sustainability practices has been seen across the region, as developers and occupiers alike look to catch up with the standards in other parts of the world. As a result, upcoming developments are taking steps towards integrating sustainable design and seeking international recognition such as LEED certification.
In the Hospitality Sector, total inbound tourism flows continue to increase year-on-year, with a recorded growth of 19.9% to reach close to 14.9 million tourists in 2024 compared to 2023, according to data from the Bahrain Information & eGovernment Authority. In terms of hospitality KPIs, Bahrain has seen positive, yet marginal, increases across the board in H1 2025 as compared to H1 2024. ADRs and RevPARs are higher for Bahrain as a whole than in Manama, largely due to several high-end and luxury resorts being located outside of the capital, whilst most mid-range properties are located within the city. On the other hand, occupancy is normally higher in the capital as opposed to the overall country, due to a concentration of more affordable properties and impact from business travel.
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A total of 13,452 real estate transactions were registered in H1 2025, marking a 16.4% increase as compared to H1 2024. Transaction values increased by 3.9% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, amounting to a total of BHD775.2 million.
Looking at the Residential Sector, CBRE Bahrain’s analysis of market dynamics reveals mixed performance. Average actual apartment sale rates fell by -2.0% in H1 2025 compared to H2 2024, with villa rates also declining by -2.3% following a period of marginal increases. Despite this, the demand for affordable housing remains strong, with a total of 2,584 applications for housing financing schemes approved during the first half of 2025. While quoted apartment rents saw a marginal increase of 1.0% for the first time following a period of consistent declines, the trend of marginal yet continual decline continued for villas with average quoted rates falling by -1.0%.
In the Retail Sector, average occupancy across CBRE's set of 21 tracked retail centers (Super Regional to Regional Category) decreased by -1.9% from H2 2024 to 66.9% in H1 2025. This adjustment is largely attributed to the addition of notable leasable area within the set, with the completion and opening of Avenues Phase 2 during H1. Given this addition, despite increases or no change in occupancy in half of the malls tracked, the average occupancy across the set was forced down. These major market entries continue to put pressure on smaller retail centres to diversify in order to drive footfall. Super Regional malls now account for 29% of the total retail GLA in Bahrain, whilst regional malls account for the largest share at 37%.
Average rental rates in the Office Sector remained constant from H2 2024 to H1 2025, as the market contends with a continued supply stream and limited growth in demand from new market entrants. According to CBRE Bahrain’s research, average Grade A & B office rates remain at BD5.1/sqm/month across tracked locations. Pre-fitted offices are experiencing higher demand, as measured by enquiry volume, compared to shell and core. This trend is driven by prospective tenants prioritising immediate occupancy and minimising initial capital expenditure. A growing interest in sustainability practices has been seen across the region, as developers and occupiers alike look to catch up with the standards in other parts of the world. As a result, upcoming developments are taking steps towards integrating sustainable design and seeking international recognition such as LEED certification.
In the Hospitality Sector, total inbound tourism flows continue to increase year-on-year, with a recorded growth of 19.9% to reach close to 14.9 million tourists in 2024 compared to 2023, according to data from the Bahrain Information & eGovernment Authority. In terms of hospitality KPIs, Bahrain has seen positive, yet marginal, increases across the board in H1 2025 as compared to H1 2024. ADRs and RevPARs are higher for Bahrain as a whole than in Manama, largely due to several high-end and luxury resorts being located outside of the capital, whilst most mid-range properties are located within the city. On the other hand, occupancy is normally higher in the capital as opposed to the overall country, due to a concentration of more affordable properties and impact from business travel.
For more market insights, visit our Insights & Research platform.
Bahrain's real estate market in H1 2025 demonstrated positive movement in transactions, with a 16.4% increase in volume and a 3.9% rise in transaction values according to the SLRB, despite limited change in the segments tracked by CBRE. While the residential sector saw mixed performance, there was a marginal decline in actual recorded sales rates. The retail sector faced occupancy adjustments due to a notable increase in GLA stock based on new supply coming on stream. The office sector remained stable in terms of average rents, with a continued preference for pre-fitted spaces. The hospitality sector continued its positive momentum in terms of growth in tourism figures; however, gains were marginal in key performance indicators.
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The Bahrain Real Estate Market Review H1 2025 reports provides our latest macroeconomic and real estate market overview and outlook, covering the Bahrain’s residential, retail, office and hospitality sectors.