WSP Middle East, one of the world’s leading professional services firms providing strategic advisory, engineering and design services, has announced the launch of its real estate advisory services unit in the region. This strategic move speaks directly to evolving market dynamics in which more clients are seeking out comprehensive, end-to-end project lifecycle services underneath a unified platform, said a statement from WSP. With over 3,000 trusted professionals across the region, WSP Middle East comprises four multi-disciplinary business units which are geared towards future-proofing the built and natural environments - Advisory Services, Transport & Infrastructure, Project Management Services, and Property & Buildings. WSP’s Real Estate Advisory team will be led…

Both local and foreign developers are aggressively launching projects, averaging more than one launch every day in the first quarter of 2024 in Dubai.   According to preliminary numbers released by Cavendish Maxwell’s Property Monitor, new off-plan project launches in March 2024 reached close to 30 projects with 10,000 units being added to the market for sale throughout the month.   “These projects now bring the total number of launches in first-quarter of 2024 to an unprecedented 34,000 units spread over 120 projects — an average of a new launch every 18 hours,” said Zhann Jochinke, director of marketing and research at Cavendish Maxwell.   “This phenomenal level of activity in the off-plan market shows no signs of abating anytime soon,…

Many people in Dubai and Sharjah who reside in areas that are still flooded said they didn’t plan to renew their tenancy contract upon expiry. They revealed their plans to relocate to other neighbourhoods which were less flooded.   Residents of some areas were struggling to return to their normal lives as streets were still flooded even six days after the rains on Tuesday, April 16. Areas in Al Majaz, Jamal Abdul Nasir, Al Wahda, Mudon, Warsan, Discovery Gardens and a few others were still flooded on Sunday evening and many tenants were forced out of the buildings as power and water were yet to be restored.   These areas of the two emirates were flooded in March this year also after heavy rains.   This has prompted residents to think not to renew their existing…

Citizens in Dubai affected by the storm can now contact authorities through WhatsApp to receive help with damages sustained to property during the rains.   This comes after Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum directed the concerned authorities to plan for extreme weather conditions.   Under these directives, Omar Hamad Bushahab, Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment established a committee to study all requests from affected citizens and determine how to address them, while "giving priority to maintaining all their damaged homes and restoring them.”   The number (0583009000) has been allocated on the WhatsApp application to receive requests for support from affected citizens.   He added that the Committee for the…

Riding the crest of a property boom on the back of a remarkable surge in investment inflows through the first quarter, Dubai’s realty is projected to see a 24.6 per cent increase in high-net-worth individuals by 2025, “propelling the ultra-luxury segment to unprecedented heights”. In the first quarter, Dubai’s residential property market surged to $110 billion boosted by a 55 per cent surge in investment inflows, with 42 per cent of new investors hailing from international markets, Springfield Properties, a leading real estate brokerage in Dubai, said its Quarter 1, 2024 Market Insights Report. “Building upon the record-breaking achievements of 2023, Dubai’s residential market continued its upward trajectory in Q1 2024, with an impressive 37,134…

As Dubai became inundated with record-breaking rains, the city’s various authorities worked round the clock to ensure infrastructure was affected as little as possible and life resumed to business as usual quickly.   “It may take a few days for the city to return back to normal but recovery efforts have been good"   Dubai rains provide ‘opportunity to enhance emergency response systems’: Crown Prince   Here are 5 key things the city has done:   Roping in property developers to help   The Crown Prince of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, directed the Dubai Land Department and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency to coordinate with property developers to expedite the restoration of…

Human-caused climate change is making extreme weather events like heat and rain more intense, frequent, and harder to predict. West Asia is forecast to face higher temperatures and a decline in overall rainfall, according to long-term scientific projections. But these very arid places will also experience storms that drop unprecedented rain according to researchers. This is forcing governments to consider whether to adapt to rare but destructive events—and how. “It’s a real tradeoff in thinking about the cost and the opportunity costs,” said Linda Shi, an assistant professor specializing in urban climate adaptation at Cornell University in the US. “These events are likely to be erratic and unpredictable.” The UAE was battered on April 16 by its…

Riding the crest of a property boom on the back of a remarkable surge in investment inflows through the first quarter, Dubai’s realty is projected to see a 24.6 per cent increase in high-net-worth individuals by 2025, “propelling the ultra-luxury segment to unprecedented heights”.   In the first quarter, Dubai’s residential property market surged to $110 billion boosted by a 55 per cent surge in investment inflows, with 42 per cent of new investors hailing from international markets, Springfield Properties, a leading real estate brokerage in Dubai, said its Quarter 1, 2024 Market Insights Report.   “Building upon the record-breaking achievements of 2023, Dubai’s residential market continued its upward trajectory in Q1 2024, with an…

UAE - Leading international property consultancy LH1 Global has annnounced that one of South East Asia’s most iconic buildings, The Sail, is set for launch next week in Malaysia.   A spectacular flagship project being developed by Sheng Tai International, The Sail will be unveiled at an exclusive event in Atelier M Lounge, Dubai Marina on April 24.   Reaching 325m at its tallest point, it will be larger than the Burj Al Arab and as high as the Eiffel Tower, and nine linked towers resembling a majestic ship fleet will make it one of the most recognisable buildings in the world, said the top consultancy.   The Sail will also be home to the first Karl Lagerfeld Hotel Tower and Branded Residences in South East Asia, and a first of its kind in Malaysia.   The…

ABU DHABI: Aldar Properties (Aldar) has announced a partnership with Siemens to make Saadiyat Grove, an integrated mixed-use project under development in the cultural heart of Abu Dhabi, a leading global example of smart urban living. The agreement was signed today at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi.   Utilising the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio and its cloud-based Building X platform, Aldar will deploy the UAE’s first cloud-based smart district management system across the entirety of the Saadiyat Grove community. The project represents the most significant investment globally to date in smart technology at a mixed-use residential and commercial real estate development.   The system will include advanced energy analytics to support emission…

According to Knight Frank, a global property consultant, 105 properties valued at more than $10 million were sold in Dubai in the first three months of this year, a 19% increase from Q1 2023.   Faisal Durrani, Partner – Head of Research, MENA, explained, “The level of deal activity in Dubai continues to strengthen, particularly at the top end of the market, where the near constant stream of international high-net-worth-individuals vying for the city’s most expensive homes persists.   “The laser-like focus of the global wealthy on Dubai is best reflected in the rapid deterioration in the volume of $10 million+ homes for sale, which has fallen by 59 percent across the city over the last 12 months to just 864 homes.”   Six percent more than…

The number of luxury properties with a value of $10 million plus available for sale has dropped by more than half as more millionaires tend to make Dubai their home and fewer are willing to sell their assets.   “The laser-like focus of the global wealthy on Dubai is best reflected in the rapid drop in the volume of $10 million-plus homes for sale, which has fallen by 59 per cent across the city over the last 12 months to just 864 homes,” said Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research for Mena at Knight Frank.   In the post-pandemic period, there is more demand coming from the end-users and long-term investors for the Dubai property market on the back of confidence in the local economy and the government’s handling of Covid-19.   As reported by…