Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has announced a 134 per cent increase in real estate transactions following the creation of the emirate’s new Higher Committee of Real Estate (HCoRE) on September 2.

Established and chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Committee with senior representatives of major property developers among its members, aims to avoid duplication of projects in the sector and achieve a more sustainable balance between supply and demand.

In his keynote speech at the Cityscape Global Conference, held at a local hotel in Dubai, Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of the DLD, heralded the creation of the Committee and praised its instant impact.

“Dubai has the leadership and vision – led by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai – to drive the real estate sector and ensure its long-term sustainability. Since the creation of Dubai’s Higher Real Estate Planning Committee, we have seen a 134 per cent increase in property transactions,” said Bin Mejren.

“This highlights the renewed confidence in Dubai’s property sector and empowers Cityscape Global to move forward as a real estate platform that connects leading innovators and real estate minds in the market. Cityscape is a platform that reflects and supports investors’ ambitions; it aligns perfectly with the emirate’s objective for the real estate sector.”

Speaking after Bin Mejren’s keynote speech, Majida Ali Rashid, the CEO of the Promotion & Real Estate Investment Management Sector at DLD, said achieving sustainable balance in the emirate’s property sector remains the Committee’s highest priority.

“The real estate market indicators show the maturity of an increasingly balanced sector. We have achieved a total value of more than Dhs1.4 trillion through 715,000 accumulative investments and 374,000 accumulative investors,” said Rashid. “In 2019 to date, we’ve seen a value of investments of more than Dhs56 billion across 31,000 investments by 23,000 investors.”

Chris Speller, Group Director of the Cityscape real estate portfolio organised by Informa Markets, added: “The real estate sector has historically been a significant sector for foreign investment in Dubai. Our objective for this year’s Cityscape Global, held under the theme ‘Adapting to Change; Charting the course in the era of transformation’, is to address the rapid changes brought about by global macro-economic factors, technological advancements and financial reforms.”

DLD was heavily represented in the multi-faceted Cityscape Global Conference as the sector’s “rapid changes” came into view.

Majid Saqr Al Marri, CEO of the Registration & Real Estate Services for DLD, delivered the welcome address for the afternoon sessions, before taking part in a panel discussion entitled ‘Agents of change: best practise principles for the governance of regulators.

“Dubai Land Department is committed to developing the most effective and efficient real estate technologies, solutions and services to upgrade and transform the emirate’s real estate system,” said Al Marri. “This will include a smart valuation system and various customer training mechanisms to provide buyers with time-reducing solutions under one integrated platform.”

Finally, Khalifa Alzeraim Al Suwaidi, CEO of Emirates Real Estate Solutions (ERES), the technology arm of the DLD, took part in a panel discussion entitled ‘The world re-imagined: accelerating the smart city revolution.’

“Dubai’s real estate sector has become dependent on modern technologies, especially following DLD’s success in developing a number of applications, most prominently the Dubai Real Estate Self Transaction (REST) platform, in addition to a number of systems successively announced by DLD over the past few years. In the future, we will witness generations of applications based on blockchain and artificial intelligence, which will leave a significant positive impact on partners and customers, as well as improve their experience when conducting real estate transactions.”

Following the morning sessions, the conference split into two afternoon streams, the first of which covered Architecture and Design – the result of Informa Markets’ new partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Featuring presentations from DLD officials and representatives from architectural firms including Weston Williamson Architects and Vittoria Grassi Architetto and Partners, the Architecture and Design programme shifted towards exmaining the latest trends and practices in community and living spaces.

The conference’s second afternoon stream focused on ‘Proptech & Innovation’, with experts from Colliers International, Kaizen Asset Management, Better Homes and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank discussing the impact of new technologies on the real estate market, as well as innovations in proptech and ever-changing investor trends.