Dubai's secondary property market maturing fast

Announcing the dates of the 3rd Resale & Rental Property Show, due to be held on the 8th and 9th of September 2006 at Crown Plaza, Dubai, DSL Exhibitions' Managing Director, expresses optimism on the state of the growing secondary property market.

DSL Exhibitions recently announced the dates for the upcoming Resale & Rental Property Show with an addendum that Dubai's booming property market is now entering its second phase where individuals, rather than large developers, will begin to take the driving seat further stimulating the housing market.

'It was simply a matter of time before demand and supply - and therefore prices - begin to be determined by a large number of individuals ready to buy, rather than just a few large developers,' said Shuckri Bundakji.

We, as organizers of two previous R&R shows have seen a strong secondary market developing and we expect this year's show to emphatically demonstrate this trend.'

The Resale & Rental Property Show (or R&R show as it is popularly known) was initiated in 2004 as a platform for the then, emerging secondary property market, where real estate brokers or individuals could put properties on the market on the spot - either for sale or rent.

Until a few years back, UAE's large expatriate community was excluded from this secondary market. With the lifting of legal restrictions on property ownership to this large segment of buyers - spearheaded by Dubai - the UAE government set in motion the first phase of the liberalization of this important market. Most large residential developments are now either ready and in use or will be completed in the next 24 months.

'What this means is that market dynamics will soon be controlled by individuals, which will make this industry better regulated and more transparent,' added Bundakji.

'Even now, we see a softening of the market with developers offering increasingly better terms to buyers, but the prices are still more or less at their previous levels. As more supply enters the market, prices are expected to settle at a more stable level, both for sale as well as for rental.'