Following a few years of macro-level market headwinds and ahead of the Expo 2020, the real estate sector in the UAE is starting to show signs of recovery and revival thanks to the ongoing positive initiatives taken by the UAE Government, said a report by leading global real estate consultancy Savills.

As the country enters a new decade with an important year for its history, Savills Middle East experts have analysed the state of the market and the new key trends to watch for in the coming months and years.

Initiatives including the opening up of the market to foreign investors in Abu Dhabi and the launch of freehold residential projects in Sharjah along with the introduction of long-term UAE residency visas have contributed to significant transactions across these two Emirates in the last twelve months, stated Savills in its latest UAE Property Market Report.

With the establishment of a real estate committee in Dubai, the market witnessed a spike in the level of transactions in the last quarter in 2019, as well as an improvement in investor/end-user confidence, it added.

CEO Steven Morgan said: "The Government has shown its commitment towards creating a competitive and sustainable economy, which will continue to lead to more policy reform announcements and implementation."

"The overall market sentiment is expected to improve and lead to an increase in enquiries and transactions as further clarity emerges over policies and reforms over the next few months," he stated.

“With '2020: Towards The Next 50' being the UAE's official theme of the new year, the country will witness the biggest national strategy to prepare for the coming 50 years on all levels as it approaches its Golden Jubilee in 2021,” stated the Savills report.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has signed a strategic partnership agreement with China-based AI company SenseTime to establish the firm’s EMEA research and development centre in Abu Dhabi, while Sorbonne Centre for Artificial Intelligence has been inaugurated at Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi.

In Sharjah, we witnessed significant digital transformations in 2019 such as the implementation of electronic rent contract attestation, and the launch of smart ‘Real Estate Developers Gate’ by Sharjah Real Estate Registration Directorate (SRERD).

These developments along with the various other Smart Dubai initiatives indicate a clear drive towards creating a mature knowledge economy in the region.

Vertical farming, cloud kitchen, fintech, start-ups, co-working and co-living sectors are some of the buzzwords that will influence the UAE real estate landscape, said the report.

According to Savills, 2019 has witnessed medium to large sized warehousing spaces taken up by vertical farm operators and cloud kitchen service providers across Dubai Industrial City and Al Quoz respectively.

Global co-working operators are evaluating options and strategies to expand their presence in the country. For instance, one of the world’s largest co-working operators WeWork opened its first co-working space at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) at a time when the capital is actively promoting the start-up ecosystem. Co-living projects are currently being experimented by leading developers such as Emaar. These trends are likely to increase throughout 2020 and beyond, it added.-TradeArabia News Service

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