Dubai Offers Good OpportunitiesFriday, April 17, 2009
The correction in Dubai's real estate prices could lead to a myriad of productive investment opportunities in the sector here within the next 12 to 24 months according to investors survey results, in a new report by real estate advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle. According to the company's Investor Sentiment Survey, "With significant adjustments in capital and rental values already in place, during the next 12 to 24 months, Dubai may prove to be one of the most lucrative real estate investment opportunities in the region. Dubai's property and construction sector is undergoing a much publicised market adjustment, with several large scale projects on hold or scrapped altogether, and prices easing. At the same time, developers in Dubai are seeing this period as an opportunity to reassess developments, and refocus on end user elements, such as increased flexibility in payment plans, for example. This price adjustment is expected to aid Dubai considerably as investors are attracted back at fairer values and with greater yields. Early signs of such activity is already visible," the Survey reveals. Financial help in the form of government assistance from the $10 billion bond issue is imminent. It is thought that real estate firms are likely to be significant recipients of the funds, which should help drive investor sentiment once more in a key segment of Dubai's economy. The government has also pledged to continue with infrastructure spending to complete all major projects. From a regional perspective, the Jones Land LaSalle survey points towards optimism among investors over prospects of the Middle East real estate sector, a key driver of the market. Sentiment, be it positive or negative, drives markets. Since we last undertook our Investor Sentiment Survey in September 2008 in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse, sentiment has, without doubt, fuelled a dramatic change in the health of the MENA real estate sector," said Ian Ohan, Head of MENA Investment Transactions at Jones Lang LaSalle. At present, investors expect Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia to be the best performing real estate markets in the region.Source: Gulf News
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