His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, visited Cityscape Global today. The event is expected to host 300-plus exhibitors and receive in excess of 40,000 visitors and delegates. With the UAE property market close to hitting bottom, the event is expected to attract several curious investors on the lookout for and bargains.
I visited Cityscape today: 300 exhibitors from 30 countries with Dhs3 trillion in real estate projects on show The 15th edition of Cityscape Global kicked off at 10am today at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The flagship three-day real estate event is a highlight of the UAE and Mena's property calendar and is traditionally a barometer of market sentiment. pic.twitter.com/iDXU8NxjtF - HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) September 6, 2016
"Last year, the event was the largest in five years, with more than 43,000 participants from 102 countries and two additional halls to accommodate demand. Our forecasts for this year anticipate a similar response in terms of exhibitor participation and visitor numbers," said Tom Rhodes, exhibition director.
David Godchaux, CEO of Core, the UAE associate of Savills: "We expect the event to be busier than last year as we have witnessed, during the summer, increasing demand from buyers who were waiting to seize the right time to re-enter the market which is as close as possible to the bottom, generating overall curiosity and expectation on when the market will pick up. Whereas Cityscape last year was still in a 'wait and see' mode, we anticipate more launches to accompany an increasingly positive market sentiment." While developers have been launching a raft of projects in the run-up to Cityscape Global, investor focus is likely to centre around projects in Dubai South's residential district and the Tower in Emaar's Dubai Creek Harbour.
Niraj Masand, director of Banke International, said: "All eyes are on Cityscape as investors and developers are hoping for some zing in the market. While it is unlikely to happen overnight, we feel that Cityscape will be the turning point. Developers have started announcing projects, but how investors pick up is still to be seen. There is certainly a lot of interest and Cityscape is likely to be full house, attended well by the entire real estate fraternity, including international investors." - deepthi@khaleejtimes.com (Videos by Dhes Handumon and Shihab)
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