Sulayem says property market will cool down

A top real estate developer said he expected an "adjustment" that will cool bubbling rental prices in Dubai.

This should happen, he said, as government and other real estate companies build more residential units to meet soaring demand.

"Why have they placed so much investments in the real estate business? It is to lower the prices because it is not in Dubai's interest to have such high prices for real estate," said Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of Nakheel, a regional real estate developer.

Prices will drop soon since demand is still strong for residential units and offices, but they will adjust themselves within "two years," he told Gulf News.

"As long as there is movement, the economic boom will continue," Bin Sulayem said.

He attributed the phenomenal growth in the real estate sector to two main reasons the rise in oil prices and the return of funds invested abroad.

"The local factor is multifaceted," Bin Sulayem said. "You have the growth in the port, the free zones and the fact that most sectors in the country grew by 10 to 15 per cent."

Dubai and the UAE were also benefiting from the political and security stability in the country compared with other hot spots in the region, Bin Sulayem said.

"We have invested tens of billions of dirhams in Dubai and what we've invested in one year was more than the amount invested in ten years," Bin Sulayem said.

Nakheel was also expanding its successful experiment to Morocco and Djibouti, where it will build residential and tourism projects in the two Arab countries. He provided no details.