The 16th Cityscape Global real estate exhibition kicks off in Dubai today, the biggest annual property industry showcase in the Middle East. Our team of reporters are already on site and it is a packed week ahead of interviews, launches, announcements and press conferences.
"Blockchain has the potential to turn the internet into the world's largest decentralised stock exchange," he said.
Nesar Raza Khan, director of sales and investment at GGICO Properties, added: "Blockchain is already here. We must embrace it and find out how we relate to it so we can make sure we have a job at the end of the day."
However, he added that "many of the challenges we face today will be solved by blockchain".
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Bahrain’s real estate sector grew 4.5 percent in the first quarter of 2017, contributing over $1.7 billion to the economy, according to figures released today by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).
Real estate transactions in the kingdom grew by 15.2 percent in the quarter, reaching a total value of $770 million, an increase of 8.1 percent compared to the same quarter in 2016. Read the full report here.
Over $11billion of mixed-use real estate projects will be showcased at the Bahrain Pavilion at Cityscape Global in Dubai this week.
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Dubai real estate brokers made over 820 million UAE dirhams ($223 million) in commissions during the first six months of 2017, according to a report by the Reidin real estate information service, citing information from the Dubai Land Department. The report added that there are currently 5,856 active brokers and 2,340 offices registered in its database.
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Cyril Lincoln, head of real estate at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, added that he was seeing more activity from institutional investors in real estate in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. “Capital market activity as a source of funding is expected to grow,” he added.
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Speaking during a panel discussion on project funding, Muhammad Bin Ghatti, CEO, Bin Ghatti Developers, said he believes “releasing equity is the preferred route for developers to get funds”, rather than approaching banks for financing.
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Podcast: Tom Rhodes, exhibition director at Cityscape Global, appeared on Dubai Eye's Business Breakfast radio show this morning to reveal findings from a new study from research firm YouGov. It showed that more people are starting to look for two- and three-bed properties instead of studios and one-bed units, which he claimed shows a growing confidence in the market. Listen to the full interview here.
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UAE-based companies continue to dominate Forbes’ annual rankings of the region’s top developers, with Dubai’s wasl Management Group named at the top in the list of unlisted players. This is the second time Forbes has come with such a listing.
Of the 40 listed developers, 25 are from the UAE, including eight in the Top 10. The 40 players have a combined market value of $90.5 billion, revenues of $18.1 billion and assets worth $126.5 billion.
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Podcast: Craig Plumb, head of research at real estate consultancy firm JLL, appeared on Dubai Eye's Business Breakfast show this morning and told listeners how he sees huge growth in the healthcare market. Listen to the full interview here.
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Lootah has given a lot of interesting information on Dubai's Blockchain plans. Here is a rundown of the highlights: "Blockchain can make buying real estate as easy as buying a book on amazon" "Dubai Health Authority is working to put medical records in Blockchain "Dubai will celebrate last piece of paper issued by govt by 2020" "Dubai to launch new Blockchain academy to help train [software] developers"
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Wesam Al Abbas Lootah, CEO, Smart Dubai, is next to the podium and is delivering a presentation entitled ‘Dubai Blockchain strategy 2020: Progress, future plans, implementation and impact’. “This is the technology that has the most promise to revolutionise the real estate sector," he told the audience.
"Many leading governments are watching this technology... In Dubai we have chosen to become a global leader in Blockchain… It's a technology that is sweeping all sectors and is set to create disruption across all sectors. Some people are calling it the next generation internet," he added.
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MAG Property Developments will this week launch a new 4 billion UAE dirham ($1.0884 billion) gated community project within Mohammed Bin Rashid City, containing more than 4,500 homes aimed at the mid-income segment of the market. The Dubai-based company's chief executive, Talal Al Gaddah, told Michael Fahy, editor of ZAWYA.com that MAG Eye will comprise 4,000 new, low-rise apartments and 535 townhouses and is scheduled for completion by the first half of 2022.
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Marjan Faraidooni, Senior Vice President, Legacy Development and Impact, Expo 2020, has taken to the stage and has revealed that "to date more than 120 countries have committed to take part" in the event. "It is important economic contributor supporting the nation mission," she added. Click here to check out our full story on the Expo legacy plans from earlier in the day.
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The regulatory executive also said the agency is also inspecting properties to make sure the quality promised by developers is being delivered. “We are making sure all the quality... and finishes... promised by the developer, is delivered," he said.
"We will be watching quality. So any promise you put out there be sure that RERA will get back to you on that. We will be looking. We will not compromise on the quality you are promising the investor," he told delegates.
In terms of new technology, RERA is also working on a virtual reality tool that enables potential investors to get all the details they need about a building on their mobile phone, including occupancy levels, transactions, numbers of units, etc.
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Bin Ghalita added that complaints submitted to RERA have dropped dramatically from almost "everyday" about three to four years ago to around "two a month" at present.
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Marwan Bin Ghalita, CEO, Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), Dubai Land Department, has begun his keynote presentation and revealed that his department is working on a new law to speed up and enhance regulations. He did not reveal any specifics but we are hoping to speak to him later to get more details.
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Union Properties is set to "announce a significant agreement" on Monday, the Dubai developer has revealed. While it has not given away any details, it states that senior executives from Union Properties and China State Construction Engineering Corporation will be present.
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Dubai's Expo 2020 site is set to be converted into a new area of the city that will contain 135,000 square metres of commercial space and 65,000 square metres of residential units and will be known as District 2020 once the event ends. The organising committee's plans for the site will include a new conference and exhibition centre to be built by Dubai World Trade Centre and major buildings on the site will be re-used for other purposes, with the Sustainability Pavilion being converted into a Children and Science Centre. Click here for full details.
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The UAE has retained its top spot as the most appealing country for Gulf residents to invest in property according to the Real Estate Barometer study, made in partnership between YouGov and Cityscape Global. Sixty-nine percent of respondents chose Dubai as the ‘go to’ city for real estate investment, with 66 percent expecting the impact of Expo 2020 to increase property buyer interest in the Emirates.
The biggest news in the run up to the event was confirmation that Emaar Properties, Dubai’s largest listed real estate developer and the company behind icons such as the Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall, had decided not to participate in the event.
“Cityscape Global has been a significant platform to showcase property developments in UAE and in the region. While we support Cityscape in its goal of highlighting Dubai’s property sector, Emaar will not be participating in Cityscape Global as part of the strategy to move the complete marketing strategy on digital platforms,” an Emaar spokesperson told Thomson Reuters Projects in a last week.
Last year’s show braved up to a decrease in market size, owing to tough macroeconomic conditions in a climate of low oil prices, liquidity challenges and reports of slowing revenues in the construction industry. The backlog of work for the construction market in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) shrunk by around $17 billion in 2016, according to Faithful+Gould’s Construction Intelligence report in July.
The 2016 Dubai edition of Cityscape spanned approximately 41,000 square metres, with a “small percentage” of companies not renewing their space commitments, organisers told Thomson Reuters Projects last year, crediting the withdrawals to “static growth” in a market that has experienced a decline.
But sentiment has shifted for the better, according to Cityscape Global’s exhibition director Tom Rhodes, as Dubai’s real estate market has experienced a period of stability over the last 12 months, adjusting to economic factors such as low oil prices.
“We have seen the UAE, as well as other countries in the region, increasing their efforts to shift away from their dependence on oil revenues, which now constitute for around 2 percent of Dubai’s economy,” he said. “This means the ‘new normal’ price for oil – sitting at around $50 per barrel – will have a reduced effect on the real estate market when compared to oil-dependent economies in the region.” Check all the latest stories at our ZAWYA Cityscape Global 2017 Special Coverage page
