Duqm and Sohar are where Oman's industrial economy is being built, and they offer property buyers something Muscat's resorts do not: rental demand driven by employers rather than tourists, at entry prices from about OMR 26,500. In 2025 Oman rewrote the rules for its economic and free zones under Royal Decree 38/2025, and in 2026 the executive regulation reportedly set out how freehold sales to foreign buyers work. This guide explains the rules in plain terms, then sets out prices, yields on our index, corporate leasing, fees and residency for both corridors.
RD 38/2025
Zones law
Issued 7 April 2025
~OMR 26,500
Duqm entry apartments
About USD 69,000
8.8%
Sohar gross yield
Highest on our index
255,000 bpd
Duqm refinery
Expanded from 230,000
The rules: Royal Decree 38/2025 in plain terms#
The zones law at a glance
- Law
- Royal Decree 38/2025, the Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Law, issued 7 April 2025
- Replaces
- The free zones law (RD 56/2002) and the Duqm SEZ law (RD 119/2011)
- Covers
- Duqm SEZ, Sohar, Salalah and Al Mazunah free zones and other designated zones
- Foreign ownership
- Operators, enterprises and real estate developers may be 100% foreign-owned
- Land
- Allocated to developers by usufruct
- Sales to non-Omanis
- Developers may sell units as freehold, in the manner set by the executive regulations
- Tax
- 10-year income tax exemption for qualifying enterprises, renewable for two more periods
- Existing operators
- Keep the benefits under which they were licensed
The executive regulation. An executive regulation for the zones law (OPAZ Decision 81/2026) was reported as published in the Official Gazette on 20 September 2026. As reported, it:
- limits freehold sales to projects the zone's board designates;
- requires a developer escrow account for each project;
- grants residence to non-Omani owners, their spouses and first-degree relatives.
Duqm: the special economic zone#
Duqm at a glance
- Location
- Al Wusta, on the Arabian Sea about 550 km south of Muscat, outside the Strait of Hormuz
- Zone
- About 2,000 km², administered by SEZAD
- Anchors
- Deep-water port, dry dock, OQ8 refinery (built for 230,000 bpd, expanded to about 255,000), green hydrogen projects
- Investment
- About OMR 8.8 billion committed by June 2026
- City plan
- Districts including Duqm Heights and the Boulevard, planned for 250,000 residents by 2040
- Background
- Duqm city guide and Duqm investment guide
What is on sale. Duqm's residential market is young. Projects such as Maysan Square, whose first phase has been handed over after about OMR 10 million of sales to buyers from 22 countries, and The Pearl Skyline, with sea-view apartments listed from about USD 69,000 (about OMR 26,500), make up most of the current supply. Duqm Heights is a planned district in the city's second development phase, not a single project.
| Entry point | Price (OMR) | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Duqm apartments, listed from | about 26,500 | about 69,000 |
| Maysan Square | by unit; ask for the current sheet |
Who rents in Duqm. Port, dry dock, refinery, logistics and construction companies need housing for staff and contractors. Much of that demand comes through corporate leases: a company renting whole units or floors, often for one or more years, with predictable payments.
Yield scenarios for an apartment at about OMR 30,000, with 10% for management and vacancy and OMR 300 a year of running costs:
| Monthly rent | Annual rent | Gross yield | Approx. net yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| OMR 180 | OMR 2,160 | 7.2% | 5.5% |
| OMR 220 | OMR 2,640 | 8.8% | 6.9% |
| OMR 260 | OMR 3,120 | 10.4% | 8.4% |
Sohar: port, free zone and the Batinah coast#
Sohar at a glance
- Location
- North Al Batinah, about two hours from Muscat and close to the UAE border
- Anchors
- Sohar Port and Sohar Free Zone, with steel, aluminium, petrochemicals and logistics
- Our index
- About OMR 36.4 / sqft, gross yield about 8.8%
- Area data
- Sohar city centre on our index
Sohar is the highest-yielding area we track. On our latest index, a 100 m² apartment costs about OMR 39,000 and rents for about OMR 290 a month. North Al Batinah, home to Sohar, also posted one of the strongest regional moves in the official price index in Q2 2026; see our Q2 2026 index breakdown.
Get Duqm and Sohar options with corporate-let numbers
Current units in designated Duqm projects and Sohar apartments at your budget, with the title type, escrow details and realistic corporate-let rent for each. Sent to your WhatsApp.
Fees, taxes and running costs#
| Item | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| VAT | 5% on a developer's first sale of a home; resale exempt | Commercial property is 5% on every sale |
| Registration fee | 3% foreign buyer, 1% Omani buyer | |
| Municipality tax on rent | 3% of rent | |
| Personal income tax | 5% above OMR 42,000 a year from 2028 | affects few individual landlords |
| Corporate income tax (zones) | 10-year exemption for qualifying enterprises, renewable twice | relevant if you invest through a zone company |
Capital Matrix view#
Duqm sits in our Capital Matrix as a catalyst corridor: returns are tied to the delivery of major industrial projects rather than to the residential cycle. Sohar sits as an expansion market under the industrial growth theme: the residential base for Sohar Port and Freezone, with the highest yields we track today from an established tenant base. A balanced investor can hold one of each. Check any quote in Deal Check and filter areas by yield in the Screener.
Questions to ask before you buy#
- Is the project designated for sales to non-Omanis under RD 38/2025, and what title will you receive?
- Which escrow account receives your payments?
- Is there a corporate tenant or a rental pool, and what are its terms?
- What are the service charges and who sets them?
- How liquid is resale in that building, and who buys there?
Arabic investor summary (ملخص تنفيذي للمستثمرين بالعربية)#
تمثل الدقم وصحار محوري النمو الصناعي في سلطنة عمان. صدر المرسوم السلطاني رقم 38/2025 في 7 أبريل 2025 بإصدار قانون المناطق الاقتصادية الخاصة والمناطق الحرة، ويسمح للمطورين العقاريين في هذه المناطق ببيع الوحدات لغير العمانيين بنظام التملك الحر وفق اللائحة التنفيذية، التي أفادت التقارير بصدورها في سبتمبر 2026، مع حصر البيع في المشاريع المعتمدة وإلزام كل مشروع بحساب ضمان.
| المؤشر | الدقم | صحار |
|---|---|---|
| سعر الدخول | نحو 26,500 ريال عماني لشقة | حسب المساحة وفق مؤشرنا |
| مصدر الطلب | الميناء والمصفاة والخدمات اللوجستية | الميناء والمنطقة الحرة والصناعة |
| نوع الإيجار | عقود الشركات والإسكان الوظيفي | عقود الشركات والأسر |
الرسوم: رسوم تسجيل 3% للمشتري الأجنبي و1% للمواطن العماني، وضريبة بلدية 3% على الإيجار. الإقامة: تفيد التقارير بأن اللائحة الجديدة تمنح الإقامة لملاك الوحدات من غير العمانيين وأزواجهم وأقاربهم من الدرجة الأولى. يُنصح بالتحقق من اعتماد المشروع ونوع الملكية قبل الشراء.
Bottom line#
Duqm and Sohar are Oman's employer-driven property markets. Duqm offers the lowest entry prices in the country and a legal framework that now lets designated projects sell freehold to foreign buyers; Sohar offers the highest yields we track, today. For an investor who wants cash flow that does not depend on tourists or the capital's cycle, these are the corridors to look at.