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Real Estate

Real estate and property news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Saudi Arabia’s new investment of $5bn will be separate from its deposits with the central bank, Egypt's prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said

Egypt explores new mega deals like Ras El-Hekma

Egypt is planning new developments along the Red Sea coast, with at least five new areas identified for deals similar to Ras El-Hekma, prime minister Mostafa Madbouly has said. The UAE sovereign fund ADQ unveiled plans in February to invest $35 billion to build the “largest new city” in Egypt to promote tourism and drive […]

Sharjah is seen as a more affordable alternative to Dubai, making its real estate attractive

Foreign investors help Sharjah real estate thrive

Sharjah’s real estate sector recorded 22 percent growth in the number of foreign investors during the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, attracting investors from 100 different nationalities. The number of properties traded by foreign investors in the emirate during the first six months of this year reached almost […]

The Mubadala and Aldar tie-up will include a retail platform to oversee properties such as Yas Mall

Mubadala and Aldar reveal $8bn property collaboration

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and its largest property developer, Aldar, have joined forces to develop and manage more than AED30 billion ($8.17 billion) worth of real estate across the emirate. The partnership, announced Wednesday, will be structured through four joint ventures. It will be owned 60 percent by Aldar and 40 percent by Mubadala, […]

Lionel Messi poses for a photo at Dubai Expo 2020. He and his Argentina teammates will soon be appearing on 'giant billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road' to advertise property

Project stardust: why Dubai developers still want celeb tie-ins

Lionel Messi, Rohit Sharma and Chris Hemsworth are just some of the famous faces who have promoted UAE real estate in recent years. Superstar sportsmen and Hollywood heroes do not come cheap, but are they really a good investment for developers or just an excuse for the CEO to get a selfie?  Many industry observers […]

Saudi real estate Saudi property

Saudi property market grows despite flurry of new units

The delivery of thousands of new residential units in Riyadh and Jeddah in the first half of the year failed to dent continued growth in Saudi property values and rents. A combined 27,500 units came onto the market from January to June in Saudi Arabia’s two largest cities, bringing the total residential stock to about […]

Scuba diving in the Red Sea off Egypt. The Ras Banas headland is close to the St John's coral reef system, a scuba-diving hotspot

Egypt offers Red Sea peninsula for development

Egypt has started promoting another sizeable Red Sea peninsula, the Ras Banas headland, to tourism developers. Egypt’s minister of housing and urban communities Sherif El Sherbiny said on Saturday that the area is being offered in a deal similar to the Ras El Hekma scheme on the Mediterranean coast agreed in February.  The state retained […]

A water taxi in Dubai's Business Bay, where off-plan real estate prices surged in 2023

Prices stabilise in Dubai’s off-plan market as supply grows

Prices for off-plan real estate in Dubai are stabilising following a spike in 2023 as developers bring more projects to the market. Property prices for off-plan purchases in areas such as Dubai Hills, Business Bay and Jumeirah Village Circle increased by as much as 30 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. In August, […]

Students in shared accommodation. According to one expert, international investors have put more money into student housing than any other US real estate asset

Investors size up Gulf student housing after US success

Gulf entities have invested billions of dollars in student housing in the United States over the past few years, and are now considering making the same play locally. Accommodation for university students has become a hot asset class amid demographic growth fueled by the millennial generation, which recently passed the baby boomers to become the […]

Rents in the area surrounding Abu Dhabi's Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium are around 20 to 30% higher than in nearby neighbourhoods

GCC stadium projects have ‘multifaceted’ impact on real estate

Entertainment and sports-focused construction across the Gulf is most likely to push property prices up despite bringing more traffic and noise, according to industry observers. A few of the region’s many projects include the 47,000-spectator Aramco stadium in Saudi Arabia’s Al Khobar, large amusement parks in Qatar and Kuwait, and the region’s inaugural ballpark on […]

A view of King Abdullah Economic City. Developer Emaar EC says it "stands at a vital inflection point"

Emaar EC’s new strategy to steer financial recovery

Emaar the Economic City (Emaar EC), the master developer of King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia, has initiated a SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion) turnaround plan a month after its first-half 2024 losses showed an almost five-fold increase from 2023. A capital optimisation plan will allow the Saudi-listed company to restructure its SAR3.8 billion in bank facilities. […]

Visitors at the real estate exhibition Seredo 2024 held in Jeddah in May. Saudi Arabia is targeting 70% homeownership by 2030

Saudi Arabia woos US investors to bolster housing sector

As growth in mortgage lending in Saudi Arabia runs up against local liquidity constraints, several US investment giants are looking to step in. After a visit by Saudi officials to the US at the end of August, household names such as BlackRock and King Street Capital signed preliminary agreements with the Saudi Real Estate Refinance […]

Construction work in Dubai Marina. With central locations filling up, developers are having to look for plots away from the city’s core

Developers race to secure more land in Dubai

Land sales in Dubai have been on a steep incline since the start of the year, signalling more development activity to come. According to figures shared with AGBI by real estate brokerage fäm Properties, 1,396 plots changed hands in August, for a total value of AED15 billion ($4 billion). In January, 473 plots were sold […]

A shot from a UN Habitat animation showing the Ras El-Hekma development. Property in the region is being snapped up before any building has started

ADQ’s Egypt project lights fire under region’s real estate

The $35 billion investment by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ in Egypt’s tourism sector appears to have spurred a jump in real estate transactions on the country’s Mediterranean coast. In February ADQ unveiled its plan to build Egypt’s “largest new city” in Ras El-Hekma, and develop the coastal region into a Mediterranean vacation […]

real estate transparency Reem Island Abu Dhabi

Only two bright spots for real estate transparency in Mena

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have climbed higher in a biennial ranking of the most transparent real estate markets in the world, as local authorities push to open up their markets in a bid to appeal to foreign investors. But the UAE and Saudi Arabia are the only bright spots for transparency in the […]

Boulevard business park Riyadh

Saudi Arabia sets up new business park in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia launched a new business park in Riyadh this week, backed by more than SAR1 billion ($270,000) in funding, in an effort to stimulate foreign investment and local job creation.   The Boulevard Business Park is located in Riyadh’s Boulevard district which was recently host to the first e-sports ‘World Cup’, adding 60,000 square metres […]

Oxygen Park in Old Al Rayyan: the city had a third of all property sales in Qatar in the second quarter of this year

Sales surge but rents fall in Qatar property market

Lively mortgage activity helped sales surge in Qatar’s property market in the second quarter of this year, according to research by real estate research company ValuStrat. However, rents fell across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Some 1,300 apartments and 120 villas were built from April to June. An estimated 9,000 units are expected this […]

A construction site in Istanbul. Demand for rebuilding after last year's earthquakes in Turkey has resulted in a shortage of skilled workers

Turkey’s construction sector battles costs and credit

A tightening credit environment and higher costs have weakened demand in Turkey’s construction sector, causing a fall in new building licences and completion permits in the residential segment.  The number of new permits for buildings issued fell by 22.7 percent to 24,082 in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, […]

Ex-patriate families moving to Dubai for the back-to-school period tend to increase property transactions

Back-to-school season to kick off Dubai’s busy real estate market 

Expatriate families moving to Dubai for the start of the school year traditionally spur an increase in real estate transactions, while predictions of US interest rate cuts herald a lively property market in the emirate for the second half of 2024. More than 326,000 foreign and emirati students are slated to head back to Dubai […]

Arada’s Australian-born group CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi will spearhead the Australian operations and business growth

Arada moves into Australia with first project set for 2025

UAE developer Arada is planning multiple projects, valued at AED6 billion ($1.6 billion) in Australia, adding more than 2,500 dwellings in Sydney, the country’s most populous city. The Dubai-based master developer announced that the first project will be launched next year, after opening its office in Sydney. Arada’s Australian-born group CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi will spearhead […]