Opinion

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

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
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.
9 December 2024

Branded Residences: Four Key Considerations

The significance of brands and branding for the consumer goods industry is beyond the slightest doubt. The combination of generational effects and online marketing has served to reinforce their importance during the last two decades. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Gulf, where branded luxury goods, in particular, have formed a larger percentage of consumer spending than anywhere else.
4 December 2024

Valuation of Real Estate Assets – Land Plus Depreciated Replacement Cost

On occasions when there is no comparable evidence available or an asset is one that would not normally trade in the open market, valuers have to assess the market value of the land and then add it to the
27 November 2024

Owners’ Associations in the Gulf – a key to value creation

The need for Owners’ Associations The issue of multiple ownership in a single asset has been around for a long time. One of the most successful solutions has been share ownership in a company, which works well for manufacturing, service, and many other types of enterprise. Real estate has also seen a similar kind of solution: joint ownership, where a […]
24 October 2024

What are the prospects for Saudi tourism?

The evidence to date The need to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil has never been in doubt. Saudi Vision 2030 envisaged tourism playing a central role in that process. The plan originally set what was regarded as an ambitious target of 100m domestic and international tourists by 2030, but immediate success resulted in this being revised upwards to […]
9 October 2024

Is the system of hotel rating still fit for purpose?

The evolution of a system  Hotel ratings were originally introduced to enable potential guests to understand the overall quality of places where they might choose to stay and the range of facilities available. Later, they acquired significance as valuation tools for hotel brands, as well as for the properties themselves. Studies have analysed the individual willingness to pay across ratings[1] […]
6 August 2024

Value through infrastructure development: The case of Gulf ports

The rise of Gulf ports The history of seafaring throughout the Gulf is well known. The construction of the famous Arab dhow and the existence of extensive fisheries across the region in what are now the countries of the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia are part of a proud tradition that urban planners wish to capture. More recently, Gulf governments […]
24 June 2024

Natural disasters, resilience and value

The impact of natural disasters Recent adverse weather conditions in the UAE have focused attention on the impact of natural disasters on real estate. This includes impacts associated with climate change, such as flooding caused by changes in precipitation patterns and also the potential impact of rising sea levels, increasing heatwaves and regional droughts. However, the events in the UAE […]

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