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Santhosh Chandran
Doha
Were you planning to buy used furniture? If yes, then this is the right time for you.
With house rents falling in Qatar, prices of used furniture and other household items have started dropping too, thanks to oversupply, as many people moved to furnished and brand new residential units.
According to sources from Souq Haraj at Najma, a market for both new and used furniture and household items, the prices of old furniture and other household items may fall furthr as more people start moving to new furnished apartments in different parts of the country.
Ummer Hassan Koya, a salesman at a wooden furniture shop, said:"The practice of furnishing apartments with used furniture hardly exists in Qatar today. Expatriates, who have moved recently, are being offered well-furnished residential apartments with new furniture and gadgets. So, the demand for used furniture has already dropped significantly."
A salesman at Al Hind Al Zaman furniture shop echoed this view. Earlier, we used to sell a three-door wooden wardrobe for QR400 to QR500, but now customers are reluctant to pay even QR150 for the same. The number of customers for used furniture and other accessories visiting the market has also declined considerably in the last few months."
People who have been visiting Souq Haraj in the past to buy second hand furniture said the charm of the market has gone after some reputed shops decided to relocate out of the area.
"Now, the market is less crowded even on weekends. There are fewer genuine sellers and buyers at the market today," said one such customer.
According to some customers, the import of furniture and other accessories from China at a lower price has also affected the sale of second hand goods.
"The practice of furnishing apartments with used furniture has become obsolete for several reasons and one of them is the availability of first hand pieces at cheaper rates. Besides, new migrants are more conscious of healthy living and avoid used household items," said another customer.
The popularity of online sites which offers used household items at cheaper rates has also affected the business in Najma Market.
"Online sites which offer almost everything to the customers have also affected the flow of customers to the market. Online shopping guarantees both price and quality, some customers tend to believe," said another customer.
