News

The prime property sector in Dubai is gearing up for a strong 2014 following a vibrant 2013 – according to ratings agency Fitch.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Fitch said despite the positive trend, uncertainty remained a concern for the real estate sector in general as several factors and events evolve. These include the Middle East instability over Syria attack fears, Dubai’s bid for World Expo 2020 and major new real estate projects that are in the pipeline.

Retail rentals and hospitality revenues have been holding up and have shown healthy performance and growth since 2011 to date and are in a comfortable position for another good year in 2014, the ratings agency said.

“Additionally, residential prices and demand have shown recoveries in prime locations in Dubai, but secondary locations, including new projects will continue to be challenged over the medium term,” Fitch said in its report.

The ratings agency also said the sector’s stable outlook continued to be reliant on the ability of real estate companies to maintain performance in light of the increasing supply and large expansion across all segments, the report stated.

According to Fitch, some estimates suggest that real estate prices in prime areas in Dubai have risen by up to 30% during 2013.

Knight Frank, a leading independent global property consultancy, Dubai recorded 18.3% surge in luxury home prices to rank among the top four in the Prime Global Cities Index.

Nozmul Islam, CEO of Dermarr Real Estate Brokers LLC a representative company for the Pervaiz Naviede Family Trust said, “Developments in Dubai and generally in the UAE are very encouraging, and we have maintained that most is driven by an end user which will have stability in prices and sustained growth.

“We have advised our clients that now would be a good opportunity to make further investment in Dubai as it appears things will be improving further economically as the framework of realty is pretty much now in place.”