Big commercial improvements in the city of Dubai have been generating a lot of headlines, but now industry leaders are suggesting that investors should be paying attention to residential real estate as well.
Some of the real estate news coming out of the UAE supports the idea that it's a good time to buy in Dubai, and that investors should be looking into local real estate purchases, as well as all of the various equities, funds and indices based on these properties.
One of the voices for Dubai real estate is Robert Welanetz, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim-Properties.
Welanetz is set to deliver a message at the Cityscape Global Conference in Dubai this September.
Welanetz said a market rebound in late 2017 will make Dubai real estate attractive, and that the upcoming Expo 2020 will foster job creation and add to an upswing in real estate markets.
"Expo 2020 Dubai is expected to impact the rate of job creation, which will positively impact both sales and retail markets in the long term across the UAE.” Welanetz said in a statement on the upcoming conference. “Looking around the region, we also expect countries with the largest populations to witness growth, primarily to meet the needs of their maturing populations … We strongly believe in the long term growth prospects of Dubai and the UAE. Dubai's real estate market is characterized by strong fundamentals, making it the most preferred investment destination in the Middle East. The slowdown provides ample opportunities to drive extra value in investments."
Elsewhere in the industry, an optimistic tone is in the air.
JustProperty.com has created a real estate platform in the Middle East serving countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. With communications features for Realtors and investors, JustProperty.com enables streamlined real estate transactions in Dubai and elsewhere in the region.
“There are investment opportunities even in what many are dubbing a ‘soft’ real estate market in Dubai, especially when it comes to ‘value-investing’ options.” Alex Nicholas, co-founder and CEO of JustProperty, told Gulf News Journal this week in an email response to interview questions about the Dubai market. “Novice property investors ought to bear in mind what seasoned investors already know: that investing in property often necessitates keeping your eye on the long term.”
Nicholas suggests focusing on Expo 2020 and beyond, to really benefit from a market that's going to slowly start to heat up.
“Short-term economic inertia are just minor blips on the chart, especially when taking the eagle eye 10-15 year view,” Nicholas said. “It's in times like these that value investors adopt the buy-and-hold strategy. They know investing in property in Dubai remains a promising proposition, particularly when you consider the commercial legacy of this world-class city, and more so when prices are at their most attractive as they are now."
JustProperty recently added Bahrain, Jordan and Oman to its bilingual portal, as well as new services in Egypt.In a statement, Nicholas called the Egypt addition “a significant milestone, not just for our strategic expansion efforts across the Middle East and North Africa, but also for our users.”
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