Dubai hotbed for real estate

Dubai is rapidly emerging as an attractive real estate investment, and not without reason. Today, many asset managers are rushing to take advantage of Dubai’s extraordinary growth. Companies also find it lucrative to expand into areas like the Cayman Islands. Also, since the region is mainly Islamic, Shariah-compliant investment funds have gained more importance. The private equity market has also grown, reporting a 41 percent increase since 1998 with investments totaling $1 billion.

Furthermore, things are only going to get better as the level of investment is expected to more than double to $2.1 to $2.6 billion by 2007. Until now, the scenario was different as most Middle Eastern companies invested outside the Middle East for more than two decades. However, with the Islamic religion becoming more tolerant of investment vehicles and the West becoming more familiar with Islamic markets, things have improved.

All of this has reflected results in the real estate market, with a phenomenal increase in infrastructure financing and a huge amount of real estate development in Dubai and other parts of the Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates. Today, more than 30% of the world’s tower cranes are used on construction projects in Dubai, a statistic that speaks volumes about construction here. More than 30 asset managers have opened shops in Dubai and most are also hiring lawyers.