Will the UAE's real estate market benefit from the return of Qatari investors?
Industry experts also say the UAE's retail and tourism sectors are likely to see boost from Gulf-Qatar agreement
The real estate sector in the UAE could be one of the major winners from the deal to welcome Qatar back into the GCC family, according to industry experts.
The UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt on Tuesday in signing an accord with Qatar during a summit of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders, effectively ending a three-and-a-half year split between the countries.
Nicholas Maclean, managing director, CBRE, told Arabian Business: “From a real estate perspective Qatar is an important investor internationally including to countries of the GCC and so the removal of any restriction on the free flow of capital would be positive to regional marketplaces.
“Additionally, businesses in the UAE have had a long tradition of operating in Qatar and so a rapprochement should be particularly economically beneficial here.”
According to figures from Dubai Land Department, real estate transactions from 2016 exceeded AED91 billion from 55,928 investors. This included 1,006 investors from Qatar purchasing property in the emirate.
Chris Hobden, head of strategic consultancy, Chestertons MENA, told Arabian Business: “While the immediate impact will depend on how quickly ownership rules are re-instated, the restoration of relations with Qatar, one of the Gulf’s leading outbound real estate investors, is certainly a welcome development.
“It will likely take time for Qatari investors to gauge UAE market opportunities, and for trust to be re-established, having been given a limited window to divest back in 2017.
“The restoration of relations should also support the recovery of the UAE’s retail and hotel sectors, with high-spending Qatari tourists, previously key consumers of both luxury goods and hospitality services.”
Taimur Khan, head of research at Knight Frank, said: "The restoration of economic and political ties between Qatar and the UAE is likely to have positive implications for the UAE’s real estate sector. Prior to the severing of ties in 2016, Qatari investors were amongst the top 10 most active investors in Dubai’s residential market.
"Whilst we are unlikely to see Qatari investors return to this positon immediately, we do expect that investment volumes will gradually increase over the coming year."
Khan added: "In the likes of Dubai, other real estate asset classes such as Dubai’s hospitality sector, are more likely to see an immediate impact as Qatari tourists begin to return to the emirate. Whilst Qatari tourists were not so significant in terms of overall quantum of tourists visiting Dubai, where they accounted for 176,000 out of 14.9 million overnight visitors in 2016, their spending power and affinity towards luxury properties is likely to underpin stronger demand levels in this segment of the market.
"More so, as inbound tourism, both corporate and leisure, increases we will also see the emirate’s retail and F&B sectors also benefit from this trend."
