The first freehold properties ever to be offered for sale in the Arabian Gulf state of Qatar went on the market today. This follows a test-marketing period which saw great interest from potential investors from within the Gulf Co-operation Council states and beyond, all looking to get in on the ground floor of the latest Middle East real estate market to open up. The 1,012 fashionable apartments, 28 luxury penthouses and 140 stylish town homes in seven, 20-storey towers are due to be completed in the final quarter of 2006/first quarter 2007 and will line Porto Arabia – the main harbour of the rediscovered island, The Pearl-Qatar, being reclaimed offshore the Qatari capital of Doha. The range of one, two, three and four-bedroomed homes, most with sweeping sea or picturesque harbour views, come in four architectural styles – Monaco, Tuscan, Provencal and Florentine - conceived to reflect The Pearl-Qatar’s Riviera Arabia positioning. The marketing of the towers also represents a lifting of the benchmark in the Middle East’s real estate framework.