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

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Real Estate news

Dubai Lifestyle City as it was meant to look. Two different developers failed to complete the project

Plots from failed Dubai Lifestyle City project up for auction

Plots of land from a never-completed AED2.4 billion ($650 million) development in Dubai, once endorsed by tennis star Maria Sharapova, have been put up for auction. The abandoned Dubai Lifestyle City project was announced in 2007 by developer ETA Star Projects, a division of the ETA-Ascon business group. It promised buyers “high style living” in […]

Sora Beach Residences on Al Marjan Island will span a built-up area of 1.8 million square feet

New $1bn Ras Al Khaimah project to have 140-foot arch

A new AED4 billion ($1.1 billion) residential development on Ras Al Khaimah’s man-made archipelago will house a 140-foot-high arch, its developer has said.  Sora Beach Residences on Al Marjan Island is slated to have one the “grandest atriums ever seen in the region”, Dubai-based Aark Developers said in a statement. The 18-floor high project will span […]

Dubai The World Villas

Demand for beach plots sells 80% of The World villas in days

An ultra-luxe villa community planned for Dubai’s The World Islands is more than 80 percent sold only days after first being announced, thanks to the dearth of available beachfront plots in the city. The boutique developer Amali Properties, co-founded by siblings Ali and Amira Sajwani of Damac Properties, said last week that the community will […]

A man moves his belongings from a flooded residential complex in Dubai. It has been reported that only 15% of UAE residents have flood insurance

Flood insurance in Dubai under threat says expert

Insurance companies could opt against covering areas of Dubai that were flooded during last month’s heavy rainfall, according to an expert from the S&P Global Ratings agency. Some areas remain badly affected since the torrential storm wreaked havoc across the emirate over two weeks ago, with record amounts of rain over a 24-hour period. It […]

Construction work at Egypt's new administrative capital. Real estate 'is a very strong inflation hedge', says Aldar's Faisal Falaknaz

Aldar’s Egyptian sales unhindered by war and economic risk

Real estate developer Aldar says geopolitical and economic volatility is not affecting its expansion in Egypt. The Abu Dhabi-listed company acquired its Egyptian subsidiary Sodic in December 2021. Since then, sales have risen by more than 50 percent on a dollar-basis, Faisal Falaknaz, Aldar’s chief finance and sustainability officer, told reporters on Monday.  “What has […]

Aldar sold a penthouse in Nobu Residences for a record AED137m, which reflects the growing appeal of Abu Dhabi’s luxury segment

Aldar Q1 profit surges 88% on strong property sales

Aldar Properties, the largest developer in Abu Dhabi, said net profit surged 88 percent to AED1.6 billion ($435.6 million) in the first quarter of 2024, compared to AED836 million a year ago, due to strong property sales. Revenue rose 83 percent year on year to AED5.6 billion as development sales rose 39 percent annually to […]

Sodic general manager Ayman Amer and Robert De Niro, Nobu Hospitality Co-Founder, at the launch of their third venture in Egypt

Aldar-owned Sodic to build third Nobu hotel in Egypt

Sodic, the Egyptian real estate subsidiary of the UAE’s Aldar Properties and Nobu, the US-headquartered luxury lifestyle brand, have signed up to develop their third hospitality project in Egypt. The Nobu Hotel and Restaurant, which will come up in east Cairo, will open next year, the developer said in a statement. The cost of the […]

UAE puts up 2 billion dirhams to pay for flood-damaged homes

The UAE has pledged AED2 billion ($545 million) to help rebuild homes of citizens that were damaged in this month’s floods. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai, said on X (formerly Twitter) that the UAE’s cabinet of ministers had also formed a committee to assess the flood […]

Emaar dividend Dubai mall

Emaar doubles dividend to $1.2bn after $11bn in sales

Shareholders of Emaar Properties, Dubai’s largest listed developer, have approved a dividend of AED4.4 billion ($1.2 billion) for 2023, up from AED2.2 billion the year before. The dividend payout reflects the company’s “robust profitability and solid financial health”, the developer said in a statement.  Shareholders also voted to appoint new board members “to drive the […]

Executives from Dar Global, Marjan, Aston Martin and Aarvees Group at the signing ceremony

UAE launches Aston Martin-branded residential tower

The global development arm of Saudi-listed Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development will launch a $250 million luxury beachfront residential project in Ras Al Khaimah with interiors designed by British luxury carmaker Aston Martin. The residential project, located on Al Marjan Island, will be launched in May, London-listed Dar Global said in a statement. The project is […]

Construction work in Kuwait. Nurseries, schools and shops are being built for the new residential district of Al Metlaa

Kuwait signs $140m contracts for Al Metlaa development

Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has signed two contracts worth KD42 million ($140 million) to construct public buildings in Al Metlaa, a new residential district north of Kuwait City. Nurseries, stores, schools and shops will be included, state news agency Kuna reported. Electricity connections have been provided for 109 buildings in the district, […]

Emirates' REIT's portfolio includes the Index Tower (centre). Its profit rose 55 percent year on year

Emirates REIT in profit after revaluation gain

Dubai’s Emirates REIT reported a 55 percent rise in annual profit after making a nine-figure revaluation gain on its property portfolio. A REIT – a real estate investment trust – is a company that owns income-producing assets related to real estate such as buildings, land and real estate securities.  Through REITs investors can have fractional […]

Prices for apartments in Dubai – with or without enviable views – have risen by as much as 30% year on year

Rising prices risk making Dubai homes ‘unattainable’

Escalating home prices in Dubai’s affordable communities are making it even more difficult for residents to get on the property ladder, real estate experts have warned. February data from property consultancy ValuStrat shows the highest annual growth in apartment values was recorded in the emirate’s more budget-friendly neighbourhoods.  Prices in Discovery Gardens and The Greens […]

The total value of projects under construction in Masdar City is estimated at AED1 billion

Masdar City has up to $1bn of projects at design phase

Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s sustainability-focused urban community, is working on projects in critical sectors of the UAE, backed by investments of between AED3 and AED4 billion ($817 million and $1 billion). The projects include energy, artificial intelligence (AI), space, life sciences and agriculture, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, quoting CEO Ahmed Baghoum. He […]

The 565 housing units in Azalea are the fourth phase of the AED9.5 billion Masaar development in Sharjah

Arada awards $168m in contracts for Sharjah development

UAE real estate developer Arada has awarded two contracts worth AED615 million ($167.5 million) to build all 565 residential dwellings in Azalea, the fourth phase of the AED9.5 billion Masaar mega-development in Sharjah’s Suyoh district.  Construction will begin immediately and the units will be ready for handover by the end of 2025, the developer said […]

The Saudi government is trying to raise home ownership among nationals to 70 percent of the population by 2030, which is helping to drive up residential property prices

Residential price rise counters slip in Saudi commercial property

Residential property was the driving force behind a rise in Saudi Arabian real estate prices in the first quarter of 2024 as prices of commercial real estate fell, government statistics released this week showed.  The overall real estate price index rose by 0.6 percent compared with the same quarter in 2023. But while there was […]

The under-construction Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi

UAE wealth fund ADQ buys stake in Abu Dhabi builder

UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ is acquiring a stake in the construction company building the Guggenheim and Zayed National museums in Abu Dhabi. Alpha Dhabi Holding (ADH), an investment holding company, announced in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange on Tuesday that it will divest 49 percent of its subsidiary Alpha Dhabi Construction […]

Sedra will be developed in eight phases, adding more than 30,000 residential units to Riyadh’s housing stock

Roshn awards $57m contract for Riyadh villa community

The Saudi giga-project Roshn has signed a deal worth more than SAR215 million ($57 million) with Dar Al Arkan, a local developer, for a villa community in Riyadh. The two companies signed an agreement allowing Dar Al Arkan to acquire and develop residential villas in the first phase of Sedra. The 35 million sq m […]