After floating through a rough time, the region’s real estate sector is expected to bounce back strongly in the coming months. Enthused by increased investments from big property developers and an increasing number of inquiries from buyers, the industry is looking forward to lucrative business. Though fluctuating oil prices and weak market sentiments had impacted…
Gauging the investment and market sentiment in a country is not an easy task. In the absence of any other solutions, surveys and economic research reports help business analysts and the media to develop an opinion on a country’s investment and market sentiment. As the business season in the UAE and the GCC starts this…
Mohammed, a Makkah native in his late fifties, has seen his city transform during his lifetime. “In the 1970s, we had no tall buildings, no skyscrapers. The skyline was one of minarets. The Grand Mosque was simpler and we had fewer visitors. Makkah was still ringed by mountains,” he says. “It’s a different city today,…
Mr President, let us start with an update on the situation in Afghanistan and how you see its evolution in 2016. This year is going to be a challenge because a number of drivers of conflicts that are regional and global will be there. And, for that, we have a framework of cooperation globally. What…
What is Masdar doing to accelerate the market? We have just announced the approval of phases 2 and 5 of Masdar City, which is roughly 1 to 1.1 million square meters of gross floor area (GFA). Masdar is a diverse, green-print urban development company and it is a mixed-use community. Today, the plan is to…
Eagle Hills is apparently managing the biggest project portfolio in Jordan. What is the market potential that you see there? We are managing actual projects on the ground worth $2.4 billion. We have four projects and they are all built-up: two in Amman and two in Aqaba. For the projects in Amman, the first is…
Despite the overall slowdown, there seems to be a lot of action at Dubai Properties (DP), along with a lot of new launches. Yes, we are coming up with a wide range of products, starting with townhouses with two, three, four and five bedrooms, with amazing payment plans. This is Arabella 2. We have just…
Dubai’s real estate sector is seeing declines in new buyer enquiries and transaction numbers over the past three months leading up to December. The declines are attributed to weak investor sentiment and muted market conditions, according to the latest Emirates NBD Dubai Real Estate tracker. The drop in new buyer enquiries was the sharpest since…
CBRE has released its Dubai Annual market Update Report looking back at the real estate sector’s performance in 2015. Here are some numbers from that report that sum up the key findings – 33 percent – the year-on-year drop in the number of residential unit transactions in 2015. 10 percent – the expected drop in prices in Dubai residential…
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet has finally approved proposals for a 2.5 percent white land tax on undeveloped residential and commercial plots within urban boundaries. While several details are awaited in the next six months, the law is expected to bring about a “fundamental change in Saudi Arabia’s real estate market once the new fee on undeveloped…
