Buying property can never go out of fashion

Dubai: When in doubt, investors are more likely to be assured by the solidity represented by a property asset.

“That’s what investors, the overseas ones in particular, tend to do when they see a lot of turmoil around,” said Ali Rashid Lootah, Chairman of Nakheel, at a media interaction earlier this week.

Dubai’s developers would be in perfect harmony with Lootah’s observations. The fate of the many off-plan releases that Dubai should see in the coming months would hinge on the city’s enduring status as a preferred safe haven for the global or regional investor.

The arithmetic they base their expectations on is straightforward — the yields on residential realty in Dubai is still better — at 6-8 per cent — than what the far more mature destinations can offer, around the 4 per cent mark.

Meanwhile, some developers are ramping up their marketing pitches targeting the regional investor. “There are potentially repeat buyers in markets such as Saudi Arabia,” said Anand Lakhiani, Director at Indigo Properties. “That pipeline of buyer activity still exists for Dubai property.”