Opinion

Hear our experts’ take on the latest developments and trending topics

26 August 2025

Unlocking the Kingdom: Housing Markets and Foreign Ownership Rules

To date, certain countries have attracted the lion’s share of overseas investment into their residential markets: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the UAE and the United States. These countries are all characterised by remarkably lenient regulations for foreign nationals wishing to buy real estate in their domestic markets. In the UK, for example, there are virtually no restrictions at all, neither geographic, nor residency, not sectoral, nor value. Controls exist only to confirm identity and to prevent money laundering.1 The USA, Australia and Canada are somewhat more restrictive – Canada even imposed a freeze on overseas purchases of residential real estate altogether in 2023.2
31 July 2025

How Does Geopolitics Affect Real Estate Markets?

The days when Francis Fukuyama could plausibly argue that the world had reached ‘The End of History’ seem a very long time ago now.[1] The cozy consensus that he envisaged, and which for a time seemed an accurate forecast of the 21st Century, has now been replaced by fissures between nations. Territorial and ethnic disputes have escalated into war, as in Ukraine; profound disagreements over state legitimacy and coexistence have spiralled into open conflict as seen most recently in the ‘Twelve Day War’ between Israel and Iran; and even trade and tariffs have divided nations – witness the disputes between the United States and China. Only the threat of nationalisation can be said to have declined almost uniformly around the globe; the experience of Venezuela in that regard has served as a cautionary tale to Governments everywhere.[2]
22 July 2025

Economic Impact Assessments: At the Crossroads of Economics and Real Estate Development

Governments worldwide, including now in the Gulf, want to know what economic benefits they will receive from alternative policy settings as well as from developments beyond their control. Policy examples include changing visa or competition regulations, or creating free trade or enterprise zones.[1] Other developments that Governments may want to analyse include the impact of particular domestic industries,[2] wildfires[3] or travel restrictions[4] on the economy as a whole. At a project level, cities and public agencies want similar information when they make specific decisions, for example analysing the economic benefits of Expo 2020 in the UAE,[5] deciding on transportation projects in Hong Kong,[6] analysing Saudi smart cities,[7] and authorising real estate developments.[8]
7 July 2025

Build It and They Will Come – Myth and Reality

A straightforward idea Provide the infrastructure, then construct the buildings, and both owners and tenants will appear almost as as if by magic to occupy them. Whatever its origin, this seemingly straightforward idea has come to be associated with supply-driven real estate policies. They have been enacted now for many decades, not only in the Gulf but worldwide. But is […]
25 June 2025

Tokenisation of Real Estate: Past Dreams, Present Achievements and a Measured Outlook for the Future

A long history The need for tradeable, liquid real estate assets has long been widely recognised. There have been a range of attempted solutions to the problem. Probably the most well-known attempt was the securitisation market. From tentative origins in medieval Europe, securitised real estate – and especially mortgages – rose to become instrumental in the Global Financial Crisis when […]
13 May 2025

Building the Future: The Role of Special Zones in Achieving Oman’s Vision 2040

Oman’s Vision 2040 outlines an ambitious national roadmap for modernisation, economic diversification and global competitiveness. At the heart of this transformation are Special Zones – strategic hubs designed to attract foreign investment, boost trade, and stimulate industrial growth.
29 April 2025

Does Stock Market Volatility Impact Real Estate Markets?

No one could have failed to notice the impact that the recent economic policies of the current US Administration have had on global stock markets. The sudden raising of US tariffs to levels not seen for a century[1] has had a similar effect to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which increased duties on already high tariff rates. US and global stock markets responded entirely predictably to these recent tariffs in a rapid, negative way
21 April 2025

Affordable Housing in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Are Developers Ready to Deliver?

The starting point to answer this question is to determine the overall demand for new build housing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first factor to consider is population growth. The latest World Bank population estimate is from 2023: 33.2 million with annual growth of 3.3%
10 March 2025

The Dubai Smart Rental Index – A Comprehensive Enhancement in Rental Regulation

How can tenants know whether they are getting a good deal or not? How can investors determine whether the rent currently being paid on an existing property (the ‘passing rent’) is above or below the market? And how can existing owners know on what basis they should invest in renovating their properties?
20 January 2025

Are Urban Walkway Networks a New Frontier of Real Estate Valuation?

In many cities around the world, there are now pedestrian walkway networks that complement public transport and the road network. The many benefits of these networks feature in government analysis worldwide and
15 January 2025

Currency Adjustment Real Estate Indices: An Update to 2025

When we introduced currency adusted real estate indices six years ago, we argued that alongside multinational corporates,[1] international real estate investors are inadvertent currency speculators, facing currency risk from unhedged investments. We pointed out that they receive two returns: the performance of the real estate itself, and then a gain or loss as a result of changes in the value of the currency in which the real estate performs and that of the overseas investor. Since then the argument that currency volatility can be significant, and the return from the currency can sometimes swamp the performance of the real estate in domestic currency has been amply demonstrated.
18 December 2024

Benchmarking Key Indicators for Saudi Giga-projects: Challenges, Methodologies and Solutions

Saudi Arabia has embarked upon a massive development programme as part of its Vision 2030 plan. This programme includes 14 large-scale and ambitious developments, which it is calling ‘giga-projects’. The most well-known of these is NEOM, but other projects include ROSHN, the Red Sea Project and Jeddah Central.

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