Dubai Property Investor Latest News

With news that Dubai based Emaar Properties, which is the largest property development company in the Middle Eastern region by market share, is about to take over the US and European property construction scene, what’s happening locally in Dubai’s property market that is of valuable news for property investors?

Well, the answer is quite a lot – so just when you thought that maybe Dubai’s real estate landscape was going off the boil in terms of demand or affordability, you need to think again!

The first thing to be aware of is that the latest property show in Dubai, the R & R Local Property Show, which is one of the most well established in the region, saw record visitor numbers, strong levels of business transactions and proved that there is plenty of life left in the property market particularly in Dubai, according to Tessa Morris, marketing director of the event’s organisers.

Apparently there was strong institutional demand as well as individual demand – a clear marker for confidence in a location’s real estate industry.

In terms of the levels of construction occurring in Dubai – this has not abated either.  To illustrate this fact, in 2007 the import levels of cement to Dubai specifically for use in the residential and commercial real estate industries, rose by an incredible 74%!  However, this is not the most spectacular fact – more spectacular is the fact this percentage increase in import growth levels is expected to be topped in 2008 as levels of construction increase further.

In part this increase in construction intensity of property in Dubai is more keenly focused on the commercial front with the likes of Dubai World requiring substantial amounts of construction materials, but in part the demand for materials is being exacerbated by the local government which has earmarked 4.4 billion dollars for key infrastructure projects in Dubai.

You therefore have the likes of Dubai Metro, a driverless and fully automated metro network across Dubai City, and also the recently announced drinking water reservoirs which will be the largest pre-stressed concrete reservoirs in the world, requiring huge amounts in terms of imported construction materials.

The news about the 4.4 billion dollars worth of key infrastructure projects is very valuable news for property investors in Dubai too.  With issues such as transportation and overall accessibility being addressed by the rulers of Dubai, as well as drainage and water supply, the edge that has recently gone off the appeal of the emirate with would-be expats will soon be returned.

And finally, in the introduction to this article we mentioned that Emaar Properties is planning the next stage in its world domination plans by entering the US and European property markets – well, it’s true!  According to a report in Reuters, the construction firm recognises that the stagnating real estate markets in Europe are ripe for plucking and that the US property market is really a bargain basement at the moment.  According to the report, Emaar Properties has agents and representatives in place right now searching for the best opportunities!