More than half of investors would choose residential property as their number one option if they were to spend $10 million in the UAE real estate market, said a survey.

The findings were revealed at the Cityscape Global Conference today (September 7) by global market research company YouGov and reflected the positive sentiment underlining the region’s current property industry.

With 60 per cent of investors also believing the UAE is the most promising country for real estate investments, more than 300 exhibitors are eagerly awaiting the opening of Cityscape Global tomorrow to showcase their latest developments, said the organisers.

Bringing together more than 1,000 senior real estate professionals and government officials, the Cityscape Global Conference was focused around three main themes: middle income housing; the growing demand for quality facility management; and the need to improve broker knowledge of Dubai regulations.

Hesham Al Qassim, the CEO of Wasl Asset Management Group, Duaa Dablan, the senior deputy director, Real Estate Investment Management and Promotion Center, Dubai Land Department and Ali Abdulla Al Ali, the director of Real Estate Licensing Department, Dubai Land Department were among the experts who attended.

Craig Plumb, the head of research at JLL Mena, speaker at the Dubai Market Overview in the Conference said: "The lack of middle-income housing is currently one of the major challenges facing the real estate industry across Mena."
 
"As population growth and urbanisation continues, countries throughout the region are facing growing pressure to accommodate the evolving needs of both nationals and expatriates," noted Plumb.

“This includes the need for more good quality, affordable accommodation within developed communities, for middle-income individuals and households. Conventions such as the Cityscape Global Conference are the perfect opportunity to bring professionals together from around the world to share their ideas on how we can implement different strategies to ensure the supply within the market meets the demand,” he added.

Taking place at Conrad Hotel Dubai, the conference gave visitors a glimpse of what they have to look forward to over the next three days at the Middle East’s largest property show, Cityscape Global.

Growing from 31,000 sq m in 2014 to over 40,000 sq m of exhibition space, Cityscape Global will host more than 300 exhibitors from 30 different countries, marking the fourth consecutive year of double digit growth for the exhibition.

Emaar, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Meydan, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and, Sun and Sand Developers make up some of the leading developers and architects that will be showcasing new projects at the event, which runs tills September 10 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Emaar will be displaying the ‘Opera District’ which will house Dubai’s first dedicated Opera House, an addition to the continued development of their Dh73 billion ($19.8 billion) Downtown Dubai project.

“Cityscape Global has enabled Emaar to reach out to diverse stakeholders including world-class partners who work on our projects, as well as customers,” said Ahmad Al Matrooshi, the managing director at Emaar Properties.

Majid Al Futtaim, DMCC, Kleindienst Group and Al Barari will all be exhibiting for the first time this year, displaying current and future developments.

Martyn Crook, the sales and marketing director at Al Barari, said: "Cityscape is a great opportunity for us and with the rise in exhibitors this year and positive reports from international real estate experts JLL, it is evident that there is confidence in the market."

“We are offering visitors the opportunity to “truly experience Al Barari” using state-of-the-art technology where they can see, feel and hear the reality of life there. Our stand has been designed by award-winning landscape designer, Kamelia bin Zaal, who has used plants from our nursery Green Works to bring the green elements of Al Barari to the show,” he noted.

Another major player, DMCC, the authority on trade, enterprise and commodities in Dubai, and master developer of the Burj2020 District, will be making its Cityscape debut tomorrow.

Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill, the architects for Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, will be on the DMCC stand, to discuss the philosophy behind the bold design of DMCC’s ambitious Burj2020.
    
Also running in tandem with the exhibition is the Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets. The awards programme attracts hundreds of entries from developers and architects behind real estate developments across emerging markets globally.

Winners will be announced at an elaborate ceremony taking place at the Conrad Hotel, Dubai tomorrow.-TradeArabia News Service