Published on 17 September 2005 at 02:14 pm
Filed under: Middle East:- Dubai Property Guides » Dubai Guide for Property Investors
Since 2002 when Dubai’s ruler announced the introduction of sweeping changes to the laws governing foreign freehold ownership of real estate in Dubai, property investors have flocked to the emirate and the property sector has exploded.
As one of the seven emirates forming the United Arab Emirates Dubai is probably the most liberal and forward thinking of the seven. As a direct result of its economic and social policies Dubai attracts record numbers of expatriates and investors annually who are attracted by tax free living, fantastic employment opportunities and also by the booming and iconic real estate marketplace.
The history of Dubai dates back to around 1799; Dubai City has always been a strategically important trading town but it wasn’t until the discovery of oil in the emirate back in the 1960s that the emirate’s fortunes began to shift quite dramatically. The discovery of oil changed the face of the emirate from a small pearl exporting town into an international, wealthy and world dominant country.
Well aware that the emirate’s natural resources are in limited supply, Dubai’s rulers determined that diversification was the key to maintaining the wealth, status and success of the emirate forever and a prolonged period of intense diversification began in earnest in the 1980s with the establishment of the Jebel Ali Free Zone which was specifically designed to promote inward investment.
Since the 1980s Dubai has continued to diversify and today oil production accounts for merely 10% of the emirate’s entire GDP - which is in sharp contrast to other UAE members who all remain heavily dependent on their natural resources. Dubai is a world tourism hotspot, it is a financial centre of excellence, it has nineteen free zones for free trade including Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai International Financial Centre and the Airport Free Zone, and it has the most exciting, innovative and popular real estate market in the entire world.
The Dubai government have a stake in all the major property development companies who are building in the emirate currently and these include Emaar Properties and Nakheel. This means that the government are benefiting substantially from the booming property market and from foreign investor interest in the emirate and they are therefore incredibly keen to see this boom continue. Some of the projects currently in discussion or development include the Dubai Waterfront which will be the size of Manhattan Island when finished, Jumeira Palm which can be seen from space, The World which will be the world’s largest artificial island development and the Burj Dubai which, when completed in 2008 will be the world’s tallest building.
Because foreign investors can now buy freehold property in parts of Dubai and because the Dubai property sector remains attractively priced, the amount of inward investment into the real estate market is massive. This is pushing prices up steadily and already investors are making substnatial profits on their properties. At the same time the demand for quality rental accommodation particularly in and close to Dubai City far outstrips supply, so those with property investments in Dubai are also profiting massively from the ever increasing rental prices chargeable. All in all, the future for Dubai looks very promising and many international real estate investors seem to agree.
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