Capital Markets

Showing posts for capital markets

6 March 2026

Property Taxation: Shaping Economies and Supporting Real Estate Markets

When carefully designed, real estate taxation can be more than a tool for Governments to raise revenue; taxes can be used to influence real estate development and to achieve wider economic and social goals. At the same time, the owners of real estate work with tax lawyers, accountants and advisers to reduce their exposure to such taxes.   What is […]
23 February 2026

Dubai Office Market Performance 2025

Dubai's office market delivered exceptional performance in 2025, characterised by surging prices, record transaction volumes, and robust rental growth, all supported by strong economic fundamentals and persistent supply constraints. The Emirate's business ecosystem expanded significantly, with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce registering 71,830 new member companies, pushing total active membership to 292,486, a 13.2% increase year-on-year.
20 February 2026

Learning From History: Gulf Property Market Cycles – Catalysts And Consequences

Everyone knows that housing and commercial property prices move in cycles. The pattern of a long-sustained build-up in asset prices followed by a sudden decline has been observed in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries for decades. It is also known that real estate returns are generally more stable in the years between peaks and troughs. Not all cycles, however, are equally severe, nor are markets equally volatile. For example, comparing what has happened in Dubai since 2021 with UK average prices clearly indicates how much more volatile this Gulf market has been. And, of course, Dubai has seen much more impressive house price growth in recent years: when both markets are indexed to January 2008 = 100, UK prices stand at 158.3 while Dubai reaches 233.7.
16 February 2026

Dubai Residential Market Performance FY 2025

Dubai's residential real estate market concluded 2025 on a record-breaking note, with transaction volumes surpassing 200,000 and total values reaching AED 541.5 billion. Both off-plan and ready property segments outperformed 2024 levels, supported by robust investor appetite, strong end-user demand, and a steady stream of new project launches. Off-plan transactions accounted for 72.9% of total market activity, up from 69.3% in 2024, reflecting the market's increasing focus toward future developments. While this trend has driven growth, it has also created concentration risks, as the market has become heavily reliant on continued launch momentum and sustained buyer sentiment.
12 January 2026

Dubai Retail and Warehouse Market Performance Q3 2025

Dubai’s retail and warehouse markets delivered a strong performance in Q3 2025, supported by resilient demand, constrained supply, and improving investor confidence. Retail sales activity accelerated sharply during the quarter, with transaction volumes rising quarter on quarter and total deal value surpassing the AED 1 billion mark for the first time in a single quarter, driven primarily by robust off-plan activity.
28 December 2025

Oman Hospitality Market Performance Q3 2025

Oman’s hospitality sector demonstrated robust performance in the first nine months of 2025, supported by strong domestic and international demand. Airport traffic reached 11.2 million passengers, while guest volumes in 3-5 star hotels rose to 1.7 million, representing a 9% increase compared with the same period last year. Occupancy levels strengthened further, reaching 52.8%, a notable 13.1% growth over 2024, signalling that the market is effectively absorbing demand even during shoulder months. Meanwhile, average room rates (ARR) remained broadly stable, indicating that hotels are focusing on maximising occupancy and optimising inventory utilisation rather than pursuing aggressive rate increases to drive revenue growth.
16 December 2025

Crisis as Catalyst: Innovation in the Shadow of Real Estate Cycles

Evidence for a hypothesis The idea that creativity flourishes in a crisis has some solid empirical support. The steam turbine, transformer, radio, and helicopters were all patented during Depressions and were turned into successful products during subsequent recovery periods. Various explanations of this phenomenon have been advanced, the most well-known of which has been Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of ‘creative destruction’, […]
3 December 2025

Sand, Steel and Sentiment: Real Estate Cycles in the Gulf

Real estate cycles matter The story of Atlantic Yards in New York is both instructive and sobering. Billed as the largest real estate project ever for the city, its launch timing was excruciatingly poor. Announced in December 2003, the planning delays and the design phase dragged out over more than four years. By the time construction began in earnest, the […]
17 October 2025

Dubai Retail and Warehouse Market Performance H1 2025

Executive Summary with Key Trends In the first half of 2025, Dubai’s retail market recorded around 500 sales transactions valued at approximately AED 1.4 billion. Overall transaction volume and value declined year-on-year by 17.3% and 1.8%, largely due to a slowdown in off-plan activity. In contrast, the ready retail segment performed strongly. On the rental side, overall contracts increased compared […]
8 October 2025

Gulf Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) – Still a safe haven?

Why REITs matter The global quest for a liquid version of physical real estate has been lengthy. It is littered with long-forgotten attempts that fell by the wayside, derailed mainly by the resolute refusal of numerous ministries of finance to grant them tax exemption.[1] Eventually a champion emerged, nurtured since 1961 in the United States: the Real Estate Investment Trust […]
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
21 August 2025

Abu Dhabi Residential Market Performance H1 2025

Abu Dhabi’s economy demonstrated strong momentum in H1’2025, driven by robust non-oil trade, foreign investment, and high business confidence. Non-oil foreign trade rose 34.7% to AED 195.4 billion. Business sentiment remained positive, with Abu Dhabi Chamber membership exceeding 158,000 companies and foreign net investment on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) nearly doubling to AED 13.6 billion. The aviation sector supported this growth, handling over 15.8 million passengers, aided by expanded international connectivity. Strategic infrastructure projects, ongoing diversification, and investor-friendly policies strengthened economic activity and attracted skilled talent, providing a solid foundation for the residential market.

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