Kuwaiti real estate sales rose 15 per cent year-on-year in March driven by non-residential property deals, according to official data, despite government vows to bring down property prices to tackle record inflation.

Inflation jumped to a record of 9.5 per cent in January driven mainly by a 16.1 per cent rise in housing costs.

The value of all real estate deals - including residential, investment and commercial property - rose to around KD277.4 million ($1.04 billion) in March compared to KD240.5 million dinars a year ago, government data obtained by Reuters showed.

Residential sales, the biggest part of the real estate business, rose to KD143.46 million in March compared to KD140.53 million in the same month last year.

Commercial property jumped 165 per cent to KD35.34 million, while investment property rose around 13.74 per cent to KD98.56 million.

The total number of deals fell to 873 in March from 1,065 a year earlier, the data showed.

The central bank urged the government last week to tackle record inflation by giving away more land to citizens.

The government said in February it raised subsidies on building materials such as steel and cement. More than 90 per cent of land is owned by the government.-Reuters