DUBAI, 7 November 2021 – The real estate and economic sector are seeing the first signs of recovery since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to officials and specialists. The discussions at the Cityscape Global Summit, which runs until 8 November at the Dubai Exhibition Center (DEC), Expo 2020 Dubai, suggests confidence in the resilience of the city’s real estate sector, with numbers exceeding the boom of the mid-2000s.
His Excellency Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of Dubai Land Department (DLD), said: “The government’s management of the [COVID-19] crisis and the collaboration between public and private sectors [have] led to an increase in investor confidence in the Dubai economy, and this was reflected in the performance of the real estate market. During the third quarter of 2021, real estate sales achieved the highest value since the fourth quarter of 2013, with 15,000-plus sales at a value of AED 42 billion. Meanwhile, the first quarter of 2021 witnessed the highest number of mortgages registered at the Land Department, exceeding 6,000 with a value of more than AED 39 billion.”
The summit showcased the Dubai Urban Master Plan 2040, designed to make Dubai the best city to live and work in. Nasser Abu Shehab, CEO, Strategy and Corporate Governance, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said: “ [T]he number of Dubai residents is expected to rise from 3.3 million in 2020 to 5.8 million in 2040, while the daytime population is expected to reach 7.8 million. An integrated service centre will provide at least 80 per cent of all residents’ daily needs within a 20-minute radius using soft and flexible modes of transport, supporting transit-oriented development and sustainable modes of transport.”
The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan maps out a comprehensive strategy for sustainable urban development, which encourages mass transit use, walking, cycling and flexible means of transportation. The RTA spokesperson also shared details of the Hatta Development Plan, the provision of integrated sustainable housing complexes to meet the needs of citizens, and integrated communities that will be developed according to the highest planning standards, with green spaces, commercial centres and recreational facilities aimed at enhancing human well-being.
Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development, University of Oxford, said: “The centre of global economic gravity is shifting fast, and the pandemic has accelerated the shift towards this region and further east… and the UAE is ideally placed to be a bridge… Dubai has always shown real action behind the vision – deep reflection leading to investment, followed through in a most remarkable way. What seems impossible gets done. I have been involved in reflections [in past Expos] on how they would become vibrant communities, business centres, hospitality centres of the future, and I’m optimistic that this will continue to be the case, that Dubai will keep reinventing itself. The pace of change globally is accelerating, but Dubai has always demonstrated, and I believe, continues to demonstrate, the capacity to keep up with change.”
The environment was also highlighted as a top priority for real estate throughout the summit’s first day, with speakers including John Pagano, CEO, The Red Sea Development Company & AMAALA, who said: “Sustainability is not enough. We need to start talking about regenerative development. First, that means literally treading more lightly … when we started this journey, we brought in scientists before architects. They said our site could easily accommodate 10 million visitors a year, but only safely accommodate 1 million. This was our ecological ceiling, and we intend to stick to that. Second is being self-sufficient: for example, we will be powered solely by the sun. And third, we need to make a difference. We’re aiming for a 30 per cent net conservation benefit by 2040 across our entire project area – we’re not simply minimizing, but actually increasing habitats that also support biodiversity, and in turn carbon sequestration.”
The leading real estate event, the Cityscape Global Summit is taking place at Expo 2020 featuring addresses by international experts, panels, and insights from leading investors, economists, architects, designers and organisations moving the dial in the global real estate industry across residential, commercial, industrial, retail, hospitality and beyond.