Developers based in the UAE have announced projects worth more than AED170 billion in five countries over the past two months as the property market at home slows sharply. The spree of overseas investment comes after the Iran war began in February and launches in Dubai dried up.
Arada launched a new city outside Damascus worth AED25.7 billion in September. Eagle Hills followed in October with plans to invest up to AED62 billion in Syria. Mohamed Alabbar's Eagle Hills and Emaar took on a waterfront project in the Maldives worth about AED73 billion. Sobha Realty announced this month that it had bought land in Texas and Queensland.
The value of home sales in Dubai almost halved to AED71 billion in the third quarter. Launches dried up after the conflict began in February. Developers who had focused on off-plan sales in Dubai and other parts of the UAE are now looking to markets outside the country.
The projects in Syria mark a return to a country where UAE builders were active before the civil war. The Maldives waterfront scheme involving Alabbar's companies represents one of the largest single investments announced by UAE developers overseas. Sobha Realty's land purchases in Texas and Queensland suggest builders are looking beyond the Middle East.
The drop in Dubai home sales from earlier in the year reflects the impact of the Iran war on buyer confidence. The third quarter figure of AED71 billion is roughly half the level seen before the conflict started. Developers who rely on off-plan sales have been forced to seek opportunities in other countries while the Dubai market remains subdued.
The overseas push has taken UAE developers into five countries in just two months. Projects range from entire new cities in Syria to land banking in Australia and the United States. The scale of the investments suggests developers expect the slowdown in Dubai to last long enough that they need to build revenue streams elsewhere.
Source
UAE developers expand into international markets as Dubai property cools (AGBI)
