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Melanie Swan

Melanie Swan
Qatar housed many of its 2022 World Cup visitors in temporary accommodation such as cruise ships and rented private homes

How Qatar escaped a World Cup property glut

Three years on, it is clear that Qatar has by and large avoided what plagued many of its World Cup host predecessors – the big White Elephant. In spite of a rush of building projects to open a slew of new hotels and apartments for the November-December 2022 event, the gas-rich nation was shrewd enough […]

The Sharjah skyline from Al Majaz waterfront

New law swells Sharjah real estate sales

The value of real estate transactions in Sharjah rose by nearly half in 2024, as the UAE’s third largest emirate attracted more foreign investment, three years after it loosened its real estate laws. The 2022 freehold law change, which allowed non-Arab expatriates to own property in the northern emirate, has seen the number of nationalities […]

Dubai WFH office demand

Dubai WFH push unlikely to curb strong office space demand

Dubai’s policy of encouraging people to work from home to help curb the city’s growing traffic congestion is unlikely to dent the high demand for office space and rising commercial rental rates, real estate experts say. “Remote work is here to stay, let us it embrace together,” Omar Al Olama, UAE minister of state for […]

In a shift of policy, Dubai Land Department has converted 128 plots in Sheikh Zayed Road to freehold status real estate

Dubai real estate sector welcomes freehold drive

Dubai’s decision this month to convert the ownership of 457 plots to freehold status was welcomed enthusiastically by the emirate’s real estate sector, but industry experts are divided on whether this will lead to more restricted plots in prime areas becoming available to foreign freehold buyers. The policy shift – in which 128 plots in […]

The free trade agreement was signed in May 2022 by the two countries' economy ministers: Orna Barbivai of Israel and the UAE's Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri

Gem of a deal: how Accords unified UAE and Israel

It is almost three years since the Abraham Accords brought together the UAE and Israel in a partnership in which trade was always central to the proposition. Amir Hayek, a former president of Israel’s hotel association, was appointed Israel’s ambassador to the UAE in a nod to the importance of economic diplomacy. A free trade agreement […]