Syed Al Hajjar (Abu Dhabi)
The UAE, during the era of the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, achieved a comprehensive renaissance in the real estate sector, where the sector witnessed an unprecedented boom, to continue the process of urban and cultural renaissance that the country witnessed for decades.
Over the past two decades, the UAE has provided an exemplary experience in the unprecedented urban renaissance, with the successive development of many new cities, tourist islands, projects, residential complexes, high-rise towers and skyscrapers, as the country has become a role model in real estate development and attracting foreign investments in the sector.
foreign investments
The real estate sector in the UAE is characterized by diversity, whether in terms of product, regions or prices, which contributes to meeting all customer demands, and provides multiple options for investors, which has contributed to attracting diverse segments of investors from all countries of the world.
Real estate activities came as the most contributing activities to the balance of foreign direct investment in Abu Dhabi during the second quarter of 2021, reaching 30.31 billion dirhams, contributing about 31% of the total foreign direct investment, which recorded 98.8 billion dirhams in 3 months, according to a recent report issued by the Statistics Center. Abu Dhabi.
Last year, the Dubai real estate market recorded 84,772 real estate transactions worth 300 billion dirhams, an increase of 71%, compared to 2020, when the market attracted 51,553 new investments worth 99 billion dirhams, owned by 38,318 foreign investors.
Gulf investors accounted for 8,826 investments worth 16.88 billion dirhams, while Arab investors recorded 7,538 investments, worth 12.4 billion dirhams, according to a report by the Dubai Land Department.
global leadership
And the UAE ranked second in the world in the list of countries with the most high-rise towers, each of which is more than 300 meters long (Plus 300), according to the World Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
According to the council’s data, the UAE has 32 high-rise towers, each with a height of more than 300 meters, followed by the United States of America with a total of 29 towers of the same category.
The UAE currently owns more than 477 high-rise towers over 150 meters in length, including 310 towers over 150 meters in length, 135 towers each over 200 meters tall, and 32 towers over 300 meters each.
Burj Khalifa
According to the data of the International Council on Tall Buildings, there are 237 towers in Dubai with a length of more than 150 meters, and 106 towers with a length of more than 200 meters, in addition to 28 towers with a length of more than 300 meters.
With regard to the tallest towers in Dubai, Burj Khalifa has topped the global list since its opening in 2010 with a length of 828 meters, followed by “Marina 101 Tower” with a length of 425 meters, and “Princess Tower” with a length of 413.4 meters, and “Marina 23” with a length of 392 meters, and “Elite Tower” is 380.5 meters long.
Residential values in the “Burj Khalifa”, the tallest skyscraper in the world, increased by 23%, recording about $2,100 per square foot, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Mohammed bin Rashid Tower
In the capital, Abu Dhabi, there are 44 “150+” and 23 “200+” towers, in addition to four towers over 300 meters long.
Burj Mohammed bin Rashid is the tallest tower in the emirate with a length of 381.2 meters, followed by “ADNOC” tower with a length of 342 meters, “The Landmark” tower with a length of 324 meters, and “Etihad Tower T1” with a length of 305.3 meters, while “Sky” tower Tower” Fifth, with a length of 292.2 meters.
In the Emirate of Sharjah, there are 25 high-rise towers, each over 150 meters tall, in addition to five towers over 200 meters tall.
attractions
The value of real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi last year amounted to 71.5 billion dirhams, achieved through 14,958 transactions, including transactions and mortgages of lands, buildings and real estate units of all kinds. Yas Island topped the list of the most traded areas with a value of 4.1 billion dirhams, followed by Al Reem Island with 3.2 billion dirhams. Then Saadiyat Island with 2.5 billion dirhams, and the Al-Jarf – Forest belt project came in fourth place with 1.1 billion dirhams, then Khalifa City with 915 million dirhams.
Real estate activities came as the most contributing activities to the balance of foreign direct investment in Abu Dhabi during the second quarter of 2021, reaching 30.31 billion dirhams, contributing about 31% of the total foreign direct investment, which recorded 98.8 billion dirhams in 3 months, according to a recent report issued by the Statistics Center. Abu Dhabi.
Dubai market
And last year 2021 showed an exceptional performance for the Dubai real estate market, with the registration of more than 84.196 transactions, with a value of 300 billion dirhams, which is the highest value ever for the real estate sector in the history of Dubai. compared to the year 2020.
2021 also broke a 12-year record in terms of real estate sales value, with the sale of real estate worth 151.07 billion dirhams, while the total number of real estate sales during 2021 was also the highest since 2013, after recording 61,241 sales.
real estate transactions
And the Department of Real Estate Registration in the Emirate of Sharjah recently announced that the volume of real estate trading in the Emirate of Sharjah during the year 2021 recorded the highest level in terms of the value of cash transactions during the past four years. dirhams.
The total number of transactions executed during the year 2021 amounted to 84,238 transactions, an increase of 30.7% compared to the number of transactions executed in 2020, which amounted to 64,459 transactions.
The Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation in Ajman announced that 8,581 real estate transactions were registered during 2021, with a total value of 12.2 billion dirhams, while the total trading volume reached 7.8 billion dirhams through 6,988 trading operations.
Investment Facility
In recent years, the UAE has approved many procedures and laws to promote real estate investment, foremost among which is the facilities for obtaining residence and citizenship for real estate investors. According to the requirements for each category, in the category of the investor, it is required to own a real estate in the UAE.
Three years ago, the federal government announced the issuance of long-term “golden residency” visas, up to 5 and 10 years, for real estate investors.
Last September, the Dubai Land Department amended the terms of the entitlement of real estate owners in the emirate to establish an investor for a period of 3 years, by reducing the minimum value of the property to 750,000 dirhams, compared to one million dirhams previously.
investment attractiveness
The UAE’s hosting of Expo 2020 Dubai has contributed to enhancing the investment attractiveness of the UAE.
A recent report by Zoom Property Real Estate expected that the momentum left by Expo 2020 Dubai will extend in the Dubai real estate market for a long time even after its completion, expecting that the emirate’s real estate market will attract more foreign investors.
new units
The total number of completed real estate units (apartments and villas) in Abu Dhabi and Dubai reached 10,060 units during the first quarter of 2022, according to the quarterly report of Asteco, a company specialized in real estate management.
According to the report, the Muslim real estate units were distributed by 6000 apartments and 260 villas in Dubai, and about 3800 apartment units in Abu Dhabi.
And the global credit rating agency, S&P Global, recently expected 30,000 new housing units to enter the Dubai real estate market this year.
The real estate brokerage company “Union Square House” (USH) expected the total number of housing units in Dubai to reach one million units before the end of this decade 2030, exceeding analysts’ estimates about the emirate’s ability to accommodate only 25,000 new housing units annually.
The company stated that there are currently more than 740,000 completed housing units, and more than 50,000 housing units under development in Dubai.
real estate construction
Contracting contracts in the UAE recorded during the first quarter of this year the highest quarterly growth rate during the past five years, reaching 43.3 billion dirhams ($11.8 billion), compared to 23.85 billion dirhams ($6.5 billion) during the corresponding period last year, an increase of 80%. According to data from BNC Network, which specializes in monitoring projects in the Middle East.
The UAE accounted for half of the construction contracts signed in the Gulf Cooperation Council during the first quarter, and these contracts were divided into 5 main sectors, namely real estate, oil and gas projects, industrial facilities, utilities, and transportation.
BNC Network data indicated that the value of contracts concluded in the real estate sector grew by 33% to reach about 22.02 billion dirhams ($ 6 billion) during the first quarter of 2022, compared to 16.51 billion dirhams (4.5 billion dollars) during the corresponding period from In 2021, contracting contracts will account for more than half of the value of the contracts signed during the first three months of this year.