Construction & Real Estate
From The Report: Dubai 2013
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Dubai’s real estate market is poised for improvement in 2013, as the emirate works to regain its reputation as a leading regional destination for investment. Recovering from the losses suffered in the aftermath of the 2008-09 global economic downturn – when property prices fell by as much as 50-60% – the residential real estate market is now forecast to greatly benefit from rapid population growth. One indication of a resurgence in activity is the price of building materials, including steel and cement, which has markedly increased in recent years. Additionally, market maturation has led to expansion in the residential segment in recent years. Local developers are steadily adopting a more long-term investment mentality, both as a result of straightforward market forces and a series of new government regulations aimed at improving transparency. The chapter includes interviews with Sultan bin Mejren, Director-General, Dubai Land Department; and Hussain Sajwani, Chairman, DAMAC.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

A changing picture: With recovery in full swing, long-term growth is on the cards
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The real estate market is poised for improvement in 2012 and 2013, as the emirate works to regain its reputation as a leading regional destination for investment. The sector has recovered a substantial percentage of the losses suffered in the aftermath of the 2008-09 global economic downturn, although the scale of the market correction in those years should not be underestimated. According to a November 2012 Standard Chartered report, in 2006 Dubai’s real estate and construction sectors…

Analysis

Value for money: Market maturation has led to expansion in the residential segment in recent years
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In late 2011 Dubai’s real estate sector began to show solid signs of recovery, led mostly by the residential segment, which has benefitted from increasing demand and rising prices. In the first quarter of 2012 the sector posted growth of around 4%, making it the best performing real estate market globally for that period, as per the Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index. “Occupiers and investors appreciate the fundamental economic indicators present in Dubai, which because of the quality…

Analysis

Pressing play: Progress resumes on some of the emirate’s mega-projects
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Despite the ongoing repercussions from the 2008-09 economic downturn, as a whole Dubai’s real estate sector has seen increased activity in recent years. Since the recovery began in late 2010 and early 2011, many of the emirate’s largest projects, a substantial number of which were put on hold in the years following the downturn, have been restarted. Indeed, developers have sought to commence work again at a handful of the emirate’s so-called mega-projects, a category that broadly includes…

Analysis

Boosting the Dubai brand: Economic recovery is enhancing service quality in the emirate
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Facilities management (FM), the interdisciplinary field that has grown around the servicing of residential developments, commercial spaces, and public and private infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and hotels, is relatively new, even among developed economies. Across most of the MENA region it is in its infancy. Yet, in Dubai, the recovery has resulted in swift advances in FM activity and a government-led process of formalisation has just begun. The activity in the emirate has the sector…

Analysis

Thinking big: Plans have been announced to develop the landmark Mohammed bin Rashid City
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Towards late November 2012, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE vice-president, and prime minister and ruler of Dubai, announced a new mixed-use development, Mohammed bin Rashid City (MBR), which upon completion looks set to be the biggest such complex in the world. The plans feature a series of retail spaces (collectively known as the “Mall of the World”) and up to 100 hotels arranged around a central park that will be up to a third larger than London’s Hyde Park. The mall is projected…

Interview

OBG talks to Sultan bin Mejren, Director-General, Dubai Land Department
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Interview: Sultan bin Mejren What is your response to the claim that the market has turned a corner? SULTAN BIN MEJREN: All signs indicate that the market is on track for more disciplined growth in the coming years. This will be driven by strong economic fundamentals. To begin with, Dubai has witnessed a healthy increase in value transactions. Property and development project prices have gone through a period of stabilisation. The cause and effect here is the stabilisation in price, which has generated…

Interview

OBG talks to Hussain Sajwani, Chairman, DAMAC
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Interview: Hussain Sajwani To what extent do you think the issue of investor confidence has been addressed? HUSSAIN SAJWANI: The global market suffered a collapse in 2008 and companies worth trillions of dollars disappeared overnight. Dubai was not immune and it too suffered a major setback. In the years leading up to the crisis, Dubai’s real estate market was growing at an exponential rate and, to an extent, our regulatory environment was hard pressed to keep pace. Without a doubt it was a very…

Overview

Bouncing back: After four challenging years, activity is ramping up again at home and throughout the region
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Despite the lingering effects of the 2008-09 global economic downturn, contractors, property developers, materials suppliers and other players are broadly optimistic about the construction industry in Dubai. While the sector lost a substantial amount of value in the years following the crisis, since mid-2011 the market has been steadily improving, largely as a result of a handful of key segments, including hotel, tourism and retail projects. There have also been pockets of activity in Dubai’s…

Analysis

A catalyst for recovery: The government is working to restart stalled projects
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The construction sector in Dubai was hit hard by the 2008-09 global economic downturn. Indeed, the constraints on financing slowed the pace of building work altogether and made many investors cautious about stumping up money before projects were completed. In mid-2011 and 2012 the market began to turn around slightly, buoyed by steady development activity at home and in a handful of nearby markets, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. At the time of writing, the UAE was on course to receive more than…