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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

Real Estate overview

Real Estate news

Buying an apartment is now seen as a more attractive option than paying a landlord

Dubai tenants jump on property ladder as rents soar

Dubai has seen an increase in end-user homeowners as its property market matures and begins to move away from the speculators and flippers of the boom days before 2008. Surging rental rates and expats opting to live in the UAE longer have also made the jump from tenant to homeowner increasingly more attractive, industry experts […]

Dubai revival sees developer Deyaar’s Q3 profit surge 72%

Dubai property developer Deyaar on Thursday reported a surge in third quarter profit while revenues rose 72 percent over the same period on the back of a revival in the emirate’s real estate sector. The company made a profit of AED36.3 million ($9.88 million) in the third quarter from AED8.1m in the same period last […]

The Dubai Land Department reported a property deal worth $163 million on Palm Jumeirah earlier this week

Indian billionaire buys $163m mansion on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah

India’s Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has purchased a luxurious mansion for $163 million (AED 598.72 million) on Palm Jumeirah, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Ambani bought the mansion last week from the family of Kuwaiti tycoon Mohammed Alshaya. The latest villa purchase is close to a $80 million mansion which he […]

Chair, Furniture, Building

Arab buyers eye prime New York properties as Russians exit market

The wealthiest city in the world has seen a sharp rise in interest from Middle Eastern property buyers, replacing the void left from the exodus of super-rich Russians. A spokesperson for real estate firm Knight Frank told AGBI that the number of enquiries for New York property from Middle Eastern customers had increased by 50 […]

Trump Dubai
  • EXCLUSIVE

Trump-branded properties in Dubai report 100% growth

Donald Trump may be the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation in the US, but his name is still big business in Dubai, where properties in the Gulf city bearing his brand name have appreciated by nearly 100 percent and continue to command strong demand. The former US president is under multiple probes, including the […]

Dubai property values ‘fairly priced’ despite 30 months of rises

Property prices in Dubai are still fair despite more than two years of increases seen during its “Covid comeback”, according to new research. The UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2022 said that despite a “buoyant year”, the market in Dubai is not overpriced. “Dubai’s housing market has been a rollercoaster ride over the past […]

Qatar property

Rents for Qatar tenants soar ahead of World Cup

Tenants in Qatar are losing out in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup as rents soar by nearly a third, with landlords able to secure longer-term leases at higher rates due to a lack of supply in the market. “Residential rents have risen around 30 percent year-on-year,” said Adam Stewart, the recently appointed head […]

New PIF firm to build mixed-use destinations in 12 Saudi cities

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has launched Saudi Downtown Company (SDC), which seeks to build and develop downtown areas and mixed-use destinations in 12 Saudi cities. The cities include Madinah, Al Khobar, Al Ahsa, Buraidah, Najran, Jazan, Hail, Al Baha, Arar, Taif, Dumat Al Jandal, and Tabuk. […]

Dubai’s latest property craze: luxury underground bunkers

A Swiss design firm is tapping into the latest must-have property desire for the UAE’s super rich – luxury underground bunkers. Prices start from $10 million and the developments are used for everything from pools and garages to panic rooms and secure meeting rooms. Oppidum, a design firm established in 2015 in Lucerne by entrepreneur […]

Prospective buyers can explore a metaverse city before buying a property off plan

Metaverse will boost online home sales ‘five-fold’, says Damac

One of Dubai’s largest real estate developers is already close to $500 million in property sales each year online – and the metaverse is expected to help this grow more than five-fold when it is fully utilised as a selling channel. Many observers may be sceptical about the nascent Web3 sector, but Damac Properties is […]

AIDA is the first development Dar Al Arkan are building in Oman

Saudi developer to sell utility NFTs on its $1.6bn Oman project

Saudi Arabia’s largest listed real estate developer plans to drop a limited number of utility non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for its $1.6 billion project in Oman next month. Unlike the art and collectibles digital asset, utility non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are built to give their holders certain perks, such as exclusive access to events and items or […]

The Armani Hotel in Dubai which markets itself as "Tailored Hospitality"

From Bulgari to Versace: Dubai’s rich splash out on branded homes

The UAE is expected to attract the largest net inflow of high net worth individuals globally in 2022 – and with that comes a growing demand for luxury housing. Catering to this income bracket, the branded residences sector has grown by 230 percent across the world over the past decade. Savills, the real estate services […]

Person, Human, Indoors

‘Jury’s still out’ on hybrid working, says top fund manager

“The jury’s still out” on the post-pandemic model of working partly in the office and partly at home, according to a leading UAE real estate investment trust (REIT) manager. Thierry Leleu, CEO of Equitativa, told AGBI that the “office sector is a sector that we are confident in here in the UAE.” Equitativa is manager […]

The tumbling currency in Pakistan has made property investment and buying in cities like Karachi, above, more favourable for Pakistani expats

Pakistan property sees surge in Gulf-based interest

Pakistan’s real estate sector has seen increased interest from Gulf-based investors over the last year, according to data from the country’s largest property portal. The Pakistan Property Show was held in Dubai’s World Trade Centre earlier this month. With over 60 exhibitors, it attracted around 20,000 attendees, including Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director general of […]

Average apartment prices rose by 7.7 percent annually

Rents near record levels in Dubai as interest rates bite

House price growth in Dubai fell to its slowest rate in 18 months in August, with experts saying that the rising cost of mortgages is starting to impact the market. While the city’s real estate sector is hitting record highs, rising interest rates are putting the squeeze on some landlords. As a result rents are […]

Inside the Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa broke its sales record in 2021 – and is set to do it again

The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, recorded its highest residential sales in volume and value last year – and is on track to break that record in 2022. Data from property consultancy Knight Frank and real estate analytics portal REIDIN shows that the volume of residential transactions at the Dubai skyscraper hit 106 in […]

Dubai on alert as distressed assets become a real possibility

Dubai’s real estate sector may be hitting record highs but rising interest rates are putting the squeeze on some landlords, leading to increased opportunities to snap up distressed assets in the coming year. “I had that conversation actually a couple of days ago with one of the local banks,” Thierry Leleu, chief executive officer of […]

Saudi Arabia’s housing loans hit $170bn in Q2 2022

Mortgage loans to individuals and corporates by commercial banks in Saudi Arabia grew to SAR 638 billion ($170 billion) in Q2 2022, from SAR 211 billion in 2017, Arab News reported, citing Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail. The ambition is to make the kingdom top the world in the mortgage […]

Dubai real estate trust eyes Saudi after $400m refinancing

Equitativa, the manager of Emirates REIT real estate investment trust, is looking to expand beyond Dubai once it concludes the refinancing of its $400 million sukuk within the next two months. The firm is also keen to launch new real estate trusts outside the UAE, in Saudi Arabia and Africa. Founded in 2010, the Emirates […]

PIF-backed refinance firm aims to raise around $800m via sukuk

Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co (SRC), the Saudi equivalent of US mortgage finance business Fannie Mae, will soon issue around SAR 3 billion ($798.34 million) in local currency sukuk, or Islamic bonds, its chief executive said on Tuesday. HSBC, Bank AlJazira, Al Rajhi, Riyad Capital and SNB Capital are running the debt sale, which is […]