UAE-Dubai,
Sallam Sallam
Real estate expert Walid Al-Zarouni assured that the real estate sector in the UAE remains beyond the global effects incurred by the outbreak of Covid-19, as signs of clear effects that may lead to a real decline in market demand are not evident so far.
Al-Zarouni, who is the chairman of the «W Capital» Real Estate Brokerage Company”, said that the UAE real estate sector is strong and stable with encouraging capacity to overcome difficulties and crises, whatsoever . The local market is fortified with laws and real estate rules and legislation that boost the sector’s performance, which historically, weathered many crises around the world and reserved high potentials.
“Despite the difficulties and challenges facing the global economy, the local real estate sector maintains its strong fundamentals, attractiveness and prestige while achieving good investment returns, especially in light of the continued high demand for the purpose of investment or residence, in addition to the intensive precautionary measures taken by the authorities to protect all parties, being citizens, residents, or visitors, of the breakout of Corona,” he said.
“We all agree that the repercussions of the Covid-19 will affect some sectors such as tourism, travel and financial markets, but up till now, no direct effects were accessed on the real estate sector, which is considered safer for investors and individuals. It is advisable to buy and invest in real estate at present in light of the temptation of competitive prices and unprecedented payment facilities on the part of the developers, ”he added.
Al Zarouni said that the value of the recent real estate transactions confirms the durability and attractiveness of the real estate market in light of the investors’ search for a safe and stable environment. The value of real estate transactions recorded in Dubai during last February is about AED 24.8bn , an increase of 86.5%, compared to the previous month of January, where transactions of AED13.3bn were made .The transactions of the first week of March 2020 also were encouraging with total amount of more than AED5.3bn.
Al-Zarouni advised real estate investors ,companies and individuals not to be frightened by rumors ,but follow up daily events , taking into account the precautionary measures, and the idea here is to keep real estate assets – as much as possible – during this transient and simple crisis, as real estate losses are difficult to compensate after crisis bypass . The return on investments in the real estate market is still feasible and getting better.
He added that the conditions posed by the challenges of “Cvid-19” for real estate developers, marketing companies and institutions ,may create good opportunities to change their work patterns and put forward innovative marketing ideas in order to attract customers by presenting their products in a new way through the “social media” channels, and using virtual reality technologies to help the customers get to know more about property projects.
Finally, Al Zarouni emphasized the idea that real estate in general is “the right choice”, it may sometimes get sick, but never die. The sector will remain a store of value and the best investment opportunity of safe havens that protect people throughout the ages .
