Developers In Dubai Likely To Face Consolidation

Dubai- The current uncertainty in the real estate market may force some developers in Dubai to go out of business and force the merger of others according to Mohammed Nimer, chief executive officer of MAG Group Property Development Department. Speaking to Khaleej Times at Cityscape he said, “When you go through a crisis you have to strengthen yourself. I expect 30 or 40 per cent of the developers in Dubai will be out of business. The main reason is that they did not act in the proper way. Unless you are professional you cannot survive. Stating satisfaction on the level of activity at Cityscape he added, “After all what has happened I did not know what to expect but yesterday was the busiest day I have seen in the last seven years of Cityscape. Gurjit Singh, chief property development officer of Abu Dhabi based Sorouh Real Estate said that buyers were fast becoming more discerning.

Out there are people who are waiting to buy a property from a serious developer, that is going to separate the men from the boy. The other thing is liquidity which is a major issue in the market; the availability of finance may be constricted but there are a lot of serious buyers. He commented that there will inevitably be a a slowdown in the purchase of property. The shake-out will leave the market much more disciplined and you will see transparency in real estate processes coming to the fore. Adding that developers had overly focused on the higher end of the market leaving a huge gap in affordable housing. The 2030 plan in Abu Dhabi gives us quite a useful direction in asset class. Brett Whalley, Head of Sales and Leasing at Asteco Property Management expressed satisfaction in the levels of activity, We have had a lot of enquiries - this is one of the more busy Cityscapes we have experienced, and overall for us it is very good. Commenting that the possible merger between Amlak and Tamweel, “In any changing market strong brands come together to create an even stronger brand. He also stated that recent changes in the regulatory environment bode well for the Dubai market, Rera (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) has added value, they give buyers some certainty transactions have gone through the RERA protocols - I see RERA being a strong endorsement.