Tuesday 6 April 2010

2010 - a good year for Dubai properties and real estate

The prices of real estate in Dubai are returning to pre-crisis levels and indicates a very good year for real estate investments in 2010, claims a leading industry report.

The worst part of the economic meltdown is generally believed to be over, and investors are full of cheer and looking forward to 2010.

Most of the investors in 2010 will be those who ensure that their assets are realistically priced, professionally managed, and will offer long-term stable liquidity, said a recent report by Jones LangLa Salle.

The MENA region was the last to feel the pinch of global economic meltdown, with property prices falling up to 50 percent in few areas in the past year, but, its real estate market was the fastest to cope with the economic crunch.

With the financial pressures beginning to ease, the sale activity is likely to pick-up marginally in 2010 and this will a psychological boost for investors, thereby increasing market confidence. The investors with sufficient cash too invest will benefit immensely, with the low sale prices, almost equivalent to the 2006 levels, said Matthew Green, Head of Research and Consultancy, CB Richard Ellis.

The report mentions that investors are now happier with the state-of-the-market during recent months. This sunny optimism is primarily driven by the overall economic strength derived by hydrocarbon-based economies.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi property markets will be among the first to recover in the region, with stronger economic fundamentals and government initiatives. These markets will see greater increase in performance and pricing during the coming year.

Dubai, in particular, is likely to grow at a steady pace of four to six percent per year until 2015. Investors are considering Dubai to be the regional leader in terms of city competitiveness and real estate infrastructure, says Brendan Coakley, Managing Director at Chesterton International.

The success of Dubai in the past comes largely from its name being built as a city with good infrastructure. However, concerns still remain about the availability of capital for real estate purposes and supply-demand dynamics. The lack of liquidity and resentment on the part of few financial institutions to resume lending is proving to be a barrier for the Dubai Market.

However, taking into account the huge volume of new stock either completed or in pipeline, and combined with minimal levels of demand, the supply-demand imbalance is the main issue for the future recovery of the market, Green said.

Therefore, in future, there is increased need transparency and honesty on the part of developers, brokers and investors themselves.