The size of Qatar’s real estate market is likely to double by the end of this year, said industry experts in a report.

The country’s real estate transactions increased 71.4 per cent to QR4.8 billion ($1.3 billion) in January compared to QR2.8 billion during the same period last year, said the Peninsula report.

The trend will continue over the next several years as a result of massive government investments in the country's infrastructure development and host of 2022 World Cup related projects, it said.

"Growing supply, especially in the number of residential units and commercial space, has created a healthy and competitive environment in the market, which has caused a downward pressure, or correction in the prices of real estate properties, resulting a further rise in the demand, including for the plots of land," Abdurrahman Al Muftah, a leading Qatari businessman, and member of the government's Advisory Council was quoted as saying.

The real estate sector has started the year with a rise, due to the increased demand for land plots in order to implement new projects to keep up with the population growth and economic development of the country, said the report.

These projects are also set to keep pace with the rising demand on real estate initiatives in the coming years, especially to achieve goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 and meeting the needs of the World Cup, it added.