Middle East’s largest property show returns with double digit growth

DUBAI- The upbeat nature of Dubai’s maturing real estate market has been highlighted by strong growth in the Middle East’s largest property showcase, Cityscape Global, with the 13th edition of the event now gearing up to host more than 250 exhibitors, an increase of 25 per cent from last year, in a significantly expanded exhibition arena.

According to the Dubai Land Department, AED35 billion was invested into the Dubai property market during the first quarter of 2014, representing a 57 per cent rise over the same period in 2013.

Further underlining growing investor confidence, the organisers of Cityscape Global, which takes place from 21 – 23 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre, confirmed today that the event has been extended with two additional exhibition halls, covering more than 30,000sqm of exhibition space.

With the real estate market continuing to gain momentum, Gaurav Shivpuri, Head of Capital Markets for MENA at JLL, believes government regulations are responsible for the restoration of investor confidence in Dubai.

“The increased transparency, the improving economic fundamentals, the expected growth due to the Expo 2020 win,the rise in transfer fees to reduce speculation and the regulation of off-plan sales process have all helped in reducing the perceived risk in real estate investment in the city,” said Shivpuri.

“The steps taken by the government have helped regulate the market and the establishment of a rent index has created more clarity for investors – all signs of a maturing market. While the growth in values and rents in recent times have been far higher than the growth of the economy, we feel that the above steps have reduced significantly any risk of a ‘bust’, similar to what we saw in 2008.”

Supported by the Dubai Land Department,Cityscape Global is the annual meeting point for key real estate investors, developers, investment promotion authorities, architects, designers and other real estate professionals to drive growth in real estate investment and development across emerging markets globally.

Wouter Molman, Director of Cityscape Group said: “In 2013 we welcomed more than 32,000 participants from 111 countries.  Research revealed that 36 per cent of those visitors attended to look for real estate investment opportunities, of which 64 per cent were looking to invest more than USD$500,000. 

“This year, the demand for exhibition space has been remarkable and as such, we have increased the floor area with two additional exhibition halls to accommodate as many exhibitors as possible.  Cityscape Global will be the largest it has been for five years and the figures from the Dubai Land Department support our expectations for 2014.”

The property event is co-located with three dedicated conferences – the Global Real Estate Summit,Future Cities and the Real Estate Brokers Summit – expected to bring together more than 750 senior real estate professionals who will explore opportunities and find solutions to key challenges affecting the industry today.

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.

The Awards are now open for submissions, with winners to be announced at an elaborate ceremony taking place at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa on 22 September in Dubai. All entries must be submitted before 5pm (GST) 23 July by email to csaawards@informa.com.

Cityscape Global 2014 returns with support from the Dubai Land Department and Foundation Sponsors Emaar, Dubai Properties and Nakheel; International Strategic Sponsor Flash Properties; Gold Sponsor Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC); Project Marketing Sponsor Aqua Properties; Official Broker Trisl Real Estate; Official Architect Architecture & Planning Group;Silver Sponsors Apex Real Estate Developer and Tecom Investments; and Property Registration Trustee Partner Tamleek.