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Mazaya Monthly Real Estate Report -
Week 1 - September 2015
Al Mazaya weekly report believes
Cityscape 2015 will be the most interesting
edition of the event in recent years – it will
give the first indication of where the Gulf
real estate sector stands as an industry
at the end of Q3, and its ability to attract
buyers. There has been much recent
talk within Gulf markets as to whether
real estate now presents long-term
value, and Cityscape should give us the
most definitive answer we can hope for.
Should buyers remain on the sidelines,
or relatively few new developments be
announced, we will know the sector has
still not regained the momentum that
many claim it has. Conversely, strong
demand at Cityscape for residential and
commercial property, and the unveiling of
the type of projects that have previously
caught the global imagination, will show
Gulf real estate is well and truly back,
despite global economic uncertainly and
depressed oil prices. 47,000 Cityscape
visitors can’t be wrong, after all.
For
comparison:
last
year’s
Cityscape saw 27 large-scale projects
announced and drew 280 exhibitors
from more than 30 countries. These
are the figures against which
Cityscape 2015 will be judged.
Al Mazaya weekly report predicts this
year’s Cityscape will reflect the realities
of what a low oil price means for both
the real estate and the construction
industries in the Gulf. While low oil prices
will inevitably mean decreased liquidity
– a worrying prospect for any country’s
real estate sector – they will also mean
lower construction costs for developers,
a state of affairs that, in the short-term at
least, should bring about strong yields,
and - if savings are passed on to buyers
- present a strong value proposition. The
long-term effect of depressed oil prices
will play on buyers’ minds, however,
tempering
purchasing
enthusiasm.
Long-term cheap oil could have serious
repercussions for the value of Gulf
real estate, particularly in countries or
emirates that have not yet diversified
their economies away from reliance on
revenues generated by hydrocarbons.
These are certainly interesting times for
themarket, hence the interest inCityscape.