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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

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Real Estate news

Dubai rendered in the metaverse. Prices of virtual land plots peaked in 2022

The Mena metaverse: moving beyond the hype

Two years ago, the concept of metaverse lands transformed from an interesting subculture into a thriving multi-billion-dollar market, capturing the interest of major investors both regionally in the Middle East and globally.  Metaverse lands, made of pixels and digital images, refer to buildings and plots within a virtual environment, offering spaces for gaming, socialising, business […]

Dubai's property market 'will have a severe oversupply problem' if all projects are delivered without delay

Delays keep property oversupply at bay in Dubai

Dubai’s off-plan market is treading a delicate line between the risk of having too many properties and the threat of project delays, industry insiders have said. “There’s plenty of supply coming in,” Haider Tuaima, director of real estate research at consultancy Valustrat, told AGBI. “If everything is handed over on time, then we will have […]

Ras El-Hekma international airport will support Egypt's new metropolis, located 350 km northwest of Cairo

Egypt allocates land for airport at ADQ’s metropolis

The Egyptian government has allocated two plots of land for the development of Ras El-Hekma international airport by UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ. The land plots in Matrouh, a governorate in the north-west of Egypt, were handed over to the country’s civil aviation ministry, Ahram Online newspaper reported. The airport development is part of the […]

The Saudi Contractors Authority put the total value of ongoing projects in the kingdom at $1.5 trillion by the end of October 2023

Mena steel demand to rise over next two years

Steel demand in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is expected to accelerate in 2024 and 2025 after a significant slowdown in the past two years, the World Steel Association (WSA) said in a report. Demand is forecast to rise by just over 4 percent and 2.6 percent year on year to 57 […]

The Omani government has plans for development in Muscat, as does the Al Fayha United Development

Oman real estate ‘in good health despite drop in deals’

Higher interest rates are hitting Oman’s real estate industry, but economists are confident that a drop in transactions in January does not signal the start of a downturn in the sector. The value of real estate deals in the sultanate fell by more than 20 percent to OR208 million ($540 million) in January, compared to […]

The total value of housing benefits disbursed since the Abu Dhabi Housing Authority was established in 2012 is more than AED149 billion

Housing benefit for Abu Dhabi citizens tops $500m

Abu Dhabi has handed out over AED2 billion ($500 million) worth of housing benefits to citizens across the emirate. The first benefits package of the year, to coincide with the Eid Al Fitr celebrations, includes housing loans, ready-built houses and residential land grants. Thety will help 1,400 Emiratis. Additionally, senior citizens, retirees with low incomes, […]

City, Architecture, Building Abu Dhabi alternative investment fund Lunate and Saudi Arabia-based Olayan will each own 24.5 percent equity interest in ICDBP ICD Brookfield Place Dubai

Lunate and Olayan buy into Dubai’s ICD Brookfield Place

Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai and Brookfield Corporation have sold a 49 percent stake in ICD Brookfield Place (ICDBP), the emirates’ largest office tower. Abu Dhabi alternative investment fund Lunate and Saudi Arabia-based Olayan will each own 24.5 percent equity interest in ICDBP. It is the largest institutional third-party single-asset real estate […]

Box, Ball, Baseball 2RD2M3G Young arab man smiling confident unpacking cardboard box at new home globe off-plan developers payment plan Dubai

Dubai developers tempt off-plan buyers with 1% payment

Dubai developers are offering 1 percent payment plans in an attempt to maintain interest in an increasingly crowded off-plan sales market and to delay an anticipated slowdown after years of record growth. Yet experts warn that this tactic carries significant risks, drawing parallels to the precedents set before the 2008 housing crash. Ziad Hinnawi, sales […]

This week Jubail Island Investment Company announced the AED4 billion Bada Al Jubail project on Jubail Island

Abu Dhabi real estate deals hit $4bn during first quarter

The value of real estate deals in Abu Dhabi reached almost AED16 billion ($4 billion) during the first quarter of the year as another beachfront community was launched in the emirate. There were over 5,000 sales and mortgage transactions in Abu Dhabi during the first three months of the year, according to data from the […]

UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Abu Dhabi's overall economy showed 3% growth last year compared with 2022

Abu Dhabi’s non-oil growth spurred by manufacturing

Abu Dhabi’s non-oil sector expanded by more than 9 percent last year with manufacturing and construction leading the way, according to new figures. The Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi issued preliminary GDP estimates for 2023, revealing non-oil growth of 9.1 percent – slightly down from 9.2 percent in 2022 – as the emirate’s overall economy improved […]

A view of the Motor City community. Union Properties will repay AED250m to lenders in the second quarter of 2024

Union Properties to repay $263m debt in 2024

Union Properties plans to repay AED966 million ($263 million) to lenders in 2024 as part of its debt restructuring plan. The developer, which trades on the Dubai Financial Market, has repaid AED290 million ($78.96 million) worth of debts as a result of AED816 million generated from plot sales in the first quarter of 2024.  The […]

Traditional Hijazi tower house with wooden Rosan windows

Roshn to build its first residential district in Mecca

The Saudi giga-project Roshn is building its first residential community in Mecca, which will cater to middle income Saudis.  The Almanar project will sit on the western outskirts of the city, with easy access to Jeddah airport. It will house 17,000 people in its first phase, Roshn said this week.  The development will include three […]

Of potential buyers interested in living in the giga-project Neom, 42 percent said they would favour The Line

Neom and Jeddah offer appeal to expat buyers

Many expatriates in Saudi Arabia are interested in buying property in Neom and Jeddah Central and willing to spend over $1 million, a real estate survey showed this week. “When asked about which giga-project they would most like to buy a home to live in, Neom emerges as the clear favourite, followed by Jeddah Central […]

High rises in Mumbai – one of the four locations for Prestige's planned developments along with Bengaluru, Goa and the National Capital Region

ADIA backs Indian developer in $240m deal

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, and India’s Kotak Alternative Investment Fund will support Indian developer Prestige Group in building residential projects across four Indian cities. The deal is valued at 20 billion rupees ($240 million), Prestige Group said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The projects will be […]

Entry gate to Emaar EC's building in King Abdullah Economic City

Losses narrow for developer of King Abdullah Economic City

Emaar the Economic City, the developer of King Abdullah Economic City near Jeddah, narrowed its losses in 2023 as revenue nearly tripled. The developer cut losses to SAR253 million ($67 million) last year from SAR1.2 billion in 2022. Revenue was up 184 percent year on year to more than SAR1 billion in 2023, driven by sales […]

Plots of land on Dubia's coveted Palm Jumeirah are selling for as much as AED 1 billion

Dubai land shortages push property prices even higher

A shortage of undeveloped land in Dubai has caused an unprecedented rise in the cost of plots, setting the stage for further increases in the city’s already high property prices.  Experts note that in some areas land prices have nearly quadrupled over the past year, compelling developers to rethink their strategies to capitalise on this […]

Cuts in service and community charges for Abu Dhabi property owners resulted in year-on-year savings of AED39.7m

Abu Dhabi launches $953m housing project for citizens

The Abu Dhabi government will build an AED3.5 billion ($953.08 million) residential project through a public-private partnership in the emirate to meet the housing needs of its citizens. The project, comprising 1,146 residential villas on Al Raha Beach, was launched by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi […]

RAK properties Ras al Khaimah

RAK government to raise stake in property developer to 34%

The Ras Al Khaimah government is planning to raise its stake in the emirate’s flagship real estate developer to more than a third. Shareholders in RAK Properties have approved a capital increase with the issuance of 920 million new shares, each with a nominal value of one dirham, effectively increasing the company’s capital by AED920 […]

Saudi home ownership

Saudi home ownership fund hands out $257m in March

Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Development Fund provided another SR963 million ($257 million) in housing support in March. This takes the total given since 2017 to increase home ownership in the kingdom to $15 billion, the Saudi government said.  The government is trying to raise home ownership among nationals to 70 percent of the population by […]

An apartment near a beach in Dubai is unlikely to appeal to Brits, according to property experts

What Dubai’s united nations of property buyers want

When purchasing a property in Dubai amenities are important to Brits, while Indian buyers are all about the return on investment, according to real estate experts. Last year Dubai recorded 1.6 million real estate transactions, a record 17 percent year-on-year increase, according to data from the Dubai Land Department. The demand comes from a largely […]