Golden visas to revive UAE’s real estate market by end-2019: Al Hammadi
The UAE’s real estate sector is likely to maintain stable performance
The real estate sector in the UAE has seen a positive performance during the first half of 2019, backed by the “golden card” long-term residence system.
In the first half of 2019, the real estate transactions in Dubai grew by 8% year-on-year to AED 119 billion, while almost 10,000 real estate deals were sealed in Abu Dhabi at the value of AED 31 billion.
Last Thursday, the Dubai Land Department, along with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), had granted golden visas to 20 real estate investors who belong to 12 nationalities.
Stable performance
The UAE’s real estate sector is likely to maintain stable performance despite facing pricing corrections since 2016, CEO of Al Ruwad Real Estate Ismail Al Hammadi told Mubasher in an interview.
The market has been seeing pricing corrections due to deteriorating oil prices and the recent geopolitical tensions, as well as the foreign currencies’ exchange rates against the US dollar, Al Hammadi said.
The country’s stable economy, in addition to the reasonable property prices in Dubai as compared with global cities, have pushed the real estate sector towards stability this year, he noted.
He emphasised that the property market’s performance in the first half of 2019 was satisfying due to the pricing corrections that offered investors in Dubai various options.
The golden card
Dubai’s real estate market has notably attracted further foreign investors after the introduction of the long-term residence visas, Al Hammadi highlighted.
China has topped these markets with over AED 1.7 billion investments into Dubai’s real estate market, he indicated.
Economic driver
The availability of real estate supply as compared with the demand in H1-19 has led to an innovative competitiveness between the property developers in launching their projects, which lured further investments and turned many tenants to owners, Al Hammadi said.
The real estate sector is the second key economic driver for Dubai as it contributed around 13% of the emirate’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018, he revealed.
He clarified that real estate firms should launch developments that suit investors and residents in the UAE.
Al Hammadi expected the UAE’s real estate sector to attract further investments over the coming period on the back of the introduction of the golden visas and the 100% foreign ownership law ahead of the Dubai 2020 Expo.
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