Construction & Real Estate
From The Report: Dubai 2018
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In 2017 Dubai was on the cusp of what is widely expected to be a multi-year building boom. Driven most immediately by preparations for Expo 2020, the construction of new and improved infrastructure and major event spaces constitutes an important component of the construction pipeline for the foreseeable future. At the same time, Dubai’s steadily increasing population, the rising number of incoming visitors and strong investment growth in recent years have fuelled an influx of new residential areas, hotels and warehouses.

This chapter contains an interview with Hussain Sajwani, Chairman, DAMAC Properties.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Maturing market: A leading force of sector activity, regulation and arbitration
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In 2017 Dubai was on the cusp of what is widely expected to be a multi-year building boom. Driven most immediately by preparations for Expo 2020, the construction of new and improved infrastructure and major event spaces constitutes an important component of the construction pipeline for the foreseeable future. At the same time, Dubai’s steadily increasing population, the rising number of incoming visitors (see Tourism chapter) and strong investment growth in recent years have fuelled an…

Analysis

Global showcase: Investment and development is ramping up in advance of Expo 2020
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Perhaps the key driver of development in Dubai at the moment is Expo 2020, the world’s fair that will take place in the emirate over six months from autumn 2020 through spring 2021. The event, which is the first global exposition to be held in the MENA region, is expected to attract at least 25m visitors. Preparations have been under way for years, both at the primary event site –a 4.38-sq-km plot of land in Dubai South, halfway to Abu Dhabi –and across the emirate more…

Interview

Growth process: Hussain Sajwani, Chairman, DAMAC Properties, on the emirate’s maturing real estate market
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Interview:Hussain Sajwani To what extent has the recent economic slowdown impacted demand for real estate in Dubai, and what trends do you expect to see developing as a result? HUSSAIN SAJWANI: Dubai’s real estate market remains robust. If you look at indicators such as rents, which are stable and not declining, the market looks healthy. In fact, demand is slightly outstripping supply. There are 10,000-12,000 units scheduled to come on-line annually over the coming years, whereas more like…

Overview

Looking up: Following a slow period, the market appears poised for recovery
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The trajectory of Dubai’s real estate market is expected to turn upward in 2018, after a period of slowing growth. In April 2017 global property consultancy firm Cluttons announced that the emirate’s property market would likely stabilise and potentially enter a new period of growth before the end of the year. Recent analyses by other property consultancies and management firms, including JLL, Knight Frank, Cavendish Maxwell and Asteco, have been similarly upbeat about the medium-term…

Analysis

Taking off: Rising off-plan sales suggest a rebound in the residential segment
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At the beginning of 2017 Dubai’s residential real estate market appeared to be in the early stages of an upswing, in large part because of a surge in off-plan sales. While off-plan sales in the emirate increased by 45% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in the first three months of the year, according to UK-based property firm Chestertons, momentum picked up further later in 2017, when the number of off-plan deals grew 86% q-o-q in July-September after a slump in the second quarter. Much of this…

Analysis

The rise of REITs: Property funds are becoming popular investment vehicles
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Direct participation in Dubai’s large and very active commercial real estate market has long been a challenge for international investors operating in the emirate. Non-UAE nationals are allowed to own or hold property only within the confines of one of a growing number of free zones in the emirate, and then primarily only residential real estate. However, the introduction of real estate investment trusts (REITs) to Dubai’s investment landscape in recent years has the potential to change…