Esteemed property developer reveals unfiltered truths about Dubai, the competition, and the current state of the Dubai real estate market in new brokerage initiative.
Dubai real estate leading brokerage agency Driven Properties recently started their latest initiative, The Real Talk. A panel discussion hosted by Abdullah Alajaji, Managing Director of Driven Properties which provides unfiltered talks and focuses on the unasked questions when it comes to investing in Dubai real estate.
Abdullah stated “There is still a lot of fear and uncertainty when it comes to real estate, especially for first-time buyers. With The Real Talk, we provide an honest dialogue between experts, specialists, and those that are looking to investing in Dubai.”
These monthly panel discussions feature the biggest names of the real estate industry where they hold open talks with investors, brokers, and other agencies.
Robert Booth and his stance on Dubai and UAE Developers
In the first session, Robert Booth, the CEO of Ellington Properties, talked about his success in producing some of the best quality developments in Dubai, how the Dubai property market is comparable to other global hubs, and why Dubai continues to be one of the most investment-friendly cities in the world. Robert Booth even stated “What I learned is don’t bet against the vision of Dubai, it’s only going to get bigger and better”
Robert Booth critically analyzed other developers and how they are creating more supply despite less demand in the market. An issue that developers and investors are facing for the past few years. Furthermore, Robert also talked about the general economy of Dubai and provided an accurate analysis of the current state of the market.
Robert Booth stated “Historically if you looked at property prices in Dubai, there have been a direct correlation to the GDP growth. And so when, Dubai and the UAE has strong GDP growth, we generally have a strong real estate market.”
Abdullah also asked hard-hitting questions like the credibility of private developers and why some private developers were producing projects that were substandard, especially compared to Ellington.
Robert highlighted “It is a challenging time for a developer to sell and I think there are two types of things happening in the marketplace, one is that if you have a really inferior product, it is difficult to sell at any price, whereas if you have a good quality product then you focus on the fundamentals youre in a stronger position and that goes back to where we position Ellington generally, but it’s a challenging market out there for a lot of developers, and the fact is that there is a lot of bad product out there.”
Furthermore, Robert Booth stressed on the fact that other than the quality of their products and developments, the project-delivery time is what sets them apart from other real estate developers in the UAE.
When asked about the global economic cycle and whether Dubai has gone through a soft landing in recent years, Robert Booth had this to say:
“Sure I think that Dubai went through a soft landing, as you said, when the global economy was performing very well. So you are looking at 2018 where the interest rates were at a lowest in 50 years in the United states of America, restaurants were closing because they can’t hire people in this economY, 2019 (in Dubai) is good and can get through nice soft landing. I think globally, the challenge is that we are still young with this growth, and have low interest rates as long as we can stay in that comfort zone.”
Other agencies and brokers also had a chance to comment, critique, and ask questions to which Robert Booth was more than happy to answer.
About Driven Properties
Established in 2012, Driven Properties has grown into an award-winning leading property brokerage, investment, and consultancy company. Our dedicated team of international agents and staff offer a full spectrum of innovative and customizable property solutions and wealth management services to clients in the UAE and abroad.
Check out the 2nd episode of the Real Talk right here
