A price stabilisation in the UAE real estate market is to be expected over the next 12 months, but this is the sign of a maturing market, rather than a lack of confidence, according to W Jonathan Wride, managing director of Capital Partners, the Dubai-based American real estate private equity fund.

“The over-zealous buy-at-all-costs approach to real estate of the last two years will make way for a more contained marketplace,” he states. “This should not be seen as negative: it ultimately bodes well for Dubai as a sustainable real estate option.”
Wride says a slowdown in share prices and rising rents continue to make the real estate sector a very healthy investment option.
“Regional real estate prices are likely to peak this year as more developments come on stream, to offer buyers a chance to buy bricks and mortar rather than off-plan,” he continues. “There may even be a slight downward correction but a sustainable growth of around 12 per cent year on year is much healthier than any boom or bust scenario.”
According to recent estimates, there is currently Dh165 billion ($45 billion) in real estate under construction in Dubai, with another Dh165 billion ($45 billion) in the development stages.
A significant number of new players have entered the market, including Capital Partners, the master developer for the $1 billion Riverwalk in Dubai Internet City.
The Dubai Ministry of Planning predicts that at the current rate of growth, Dubai’s population will almost double to more than two million people by 2010, and up to four million by 2017.