There are few names which command as much attention as Warren Buffett in the global real estate market. Which is why global interest in the emirate of Dubai is expected to grow, as a result of the real estate tycoon’s decision to deepen his investment portfolio in the city. Buffett’s empire recently announced that it would invest in the UAE’s luxury real estate market, through his company Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Gulf Properties. The new investment portfolio will be through the company’s newly launched “Luxury Collection Division,” with all properties in the collection priced at $5,000,000 [approximately AED 18,600,000] or higher.

BUILDING ON RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Discussing the launch, Dounia Fadi, Chief Operating Officer of the company said: “There is an increasing demand for luxury properties in Dubai’s current real estate market.”

“With our recent high-value transactions in areas like Emirates Hills, Palm Jumeirah, Bulgari Residence and Bluewaters Islands we feel confident we are moving our agency in the right direction. Just after one year of laying our foundation in Dubai, we are thrilled to be launching our dedicated Luxury Collection Division with its dedicated advisors to expand further as we start 2021,” she continued.

GROWTH IN DUBAI'S LUXURY MARKET

Dubai is known internationally as a luxury real estate hub, routinely making headlines for the biggest, tallest and most expensive buildings in the world. Indeed, the emirate recently took the two number one spots for the most number of buildings completed, that exceed 200 metres in height in the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s 2020 Year in Review report.

Responding to news of the new expansion, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices CEO Chris Stuart said that the company predicted a growth in the demand for luxury real estate this year: “We are delighted to be announcing Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Gulf Properties’ growth into the luxury real estate market. The demand for extravagant estates will continue into 2021 and with the brokerage’s access to the luxury property segment for which Dubai naturally attracts, it will certainly excel in providing its clients with a seamless experience when purchasing a luxury residence priced in the top ten percent of Dubai’s local market.”

A key UAE real estate body has said that the country’s market is on track for growth in 2021, as a result of the UAE government’s quick response and roll out of incentives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The government measures helped in strengthening and supporting various economic activities, and greatly boosted the speedy recovery and resumption of normal economic activity. They are added to a number of measures and packages of initiatives to limit the effects of the virus outbreak,” said Muhammad Binghatti, CEO of Binghatti Developers.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO REAL ESTATE GROWTH  

Binghatti also highlighted several other factors that he said indicated that 2021 would be a positive year for the country’s real estate market. Factors included the rapid rise following decline in the market, in terms of real estate transactions. He also suggested that increased cash flow in the market – due to residents and citizens not traveling – had also contributed positively to the increase in real estate transactions. Moreover, he said that Dubai Expo 2020 would bring an increase in investment in the city and beyond, in the latter months of the year.

THE OPENING UP OF CITIZENSHIP TO NON-EMIRATIS

Another key factor expected to stimulate real estate growth this year is the announcement that the UAE will be opening up citizenship options for foreigners in the country. The country is the first Gulf Arab nation to offer expatriates the option for greater investment in the country and its future.

The move follows the decision last year to abolish the requirement for foreign business owners to have local Emirati stakeholders.

Announcing the new development, HH Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “The new directives aim to attract talents that contribute to our development journey...The changes will allow the UAE to grant citizenship to selected investors and professionals, including scientists, doctors, engineers, artists, authors and their families.”

Those who wish to take part in the scheme must own a property in the UAE, which will no doubt be a boon for the country’s real estate market. According to WAM, the UAE government’s official media source, other requirements include:

• [Applicants] must obtain one or more patents that are approved by the UAE Ministry of Economy or any other reputable international body, in addition to a recommendation letter from the Economy Ministry

• Doctors and specialists must be specialized in a unique scientific discipline or any other scientific principles that are highly required in the UAE.

• Scientists are required to be an active researcher in a university or research centre or in the private sector, with a practical experience of not less than 10 years in the same field.

• Individuals with creative talents such as intellectuals and artists should be pioneers in the culture and art fields and winners of one or more international awards. A recommendation letter from related government entities is mandatory as well.

 

Most homes have smart devices these days; from voice-activated speakers linked to artificially intelligent helpers, to lightbulbs that work via app. 

However, a tech firm based out of Delaware in the United States, has created a new sensor that aims to make those devices even smarter. 

A NEW GENERATION OF SMART TECHNOLOGY 

The new sensor from Xandar Kardian recently took home this year’s Consumer Electronics Show smart home innovation award. Traditionally, smart devices use infrared sensors to gather information (to shut off the lights if you have left a room, for example). The problem is, infrared sensors are not very accurate. 

Xandar Kardian’s new technology uses radar waves that have an accuracy rating of 99.9 per cent, and go beyond being able to detect whether or not someone is in the room. These new sensors have the ability to measure your heart rate and breathing patterns; meaning the smart home of tomorrow will be able to tell if you’ve fallen asleep and then adjust the room automatically. 

THE RISE OF RADAR 

While radar technology is nothing new (the technology was developed in the 1940s) its application within homes is on the cutting-edge of smart home technology. What’s more, radar waves are totally safe. 

And the technology goes way beyond being able to turn the lights on and off. Radar sensors can detect intruders, or even call a family member if you fall. It also has the ability to detect any sudden changes in heart rhythm, warning you or a medical team. So, it has applications far beyond just making homes smarter. It can be tremendously beneficial in places such as hospitals and nursing homes. 

 

In the summer of 2020, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson prophesised a return to normality ‘in time for Christmas’. Employers, he said, should encourage people to get back to work by August, assuming the creation of COVID-secure workplaces.

Fast forward a few months into Christmas, and we’re up against a fresh slew of lockdowns around the world, curfews, shut borders and the subsequent suspension of events, activities and travel corridors — in retrospect Johnson’s plan reads equal parts naïveté and misguided optimism.

But this does not discount that both employers and employees are eyeing a return to the office. For many, their work-life balance has been nudged off-kilter with the collapse of nine-to-five routines. Daily commutes, vacations and the hundred other little rituals that segregated work lives from private ones have yielded to an unhealthy 24-7 work culture and an overextended, burnt-out workforce — we’ve even come to recognise ‘Zoom fatigue’.

The COVID-19 pandemic does not — as some had first suggested — spell the death of the office. Rather, a host of post-pandemic workplace trends will take root in 2021, trends better aligned with the growing need for employee safety and wellbeing, and the unprecedented explosion of digital tools.

A ‘LIQUID WORKFORCE’ THAT WILL WORK FROM ANYWHERE, ANYTIME

The ‘death of the office’ argument is too binary, too either-or. But between lockdowns we’ve seen the rise of flexible working models, with employees going into the office on certain days of the week, at certain times, in staggered clusters. This hybrid approach, which allows employees autonomy over where they work and when, will continue into 2021. The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts the subsequent emergence of ‘a dispersed, digitally-enabled, liquid workforce’ by 2025.

BUT BUSINESSES WILL STILL WANT A HUB

The slide into an anywhere-anytime model will not displace but rather will fortify the need for a physical workspace. A global WEF survey reported that 74% of 2,000 employees surveyed are still pro-office, saying it is more conducive to team cohesion. A physical workspace is also the answer to several systemic issues — from the asymmetry of access to technology and connectivity to the tyranny of endless video calls. This year, the traditional office will graduate into a meeting ground for a scattered workforce.

THE OFFICE AS A PLACE TO COLLABORATE

Knight Frank’s Re-occupancy and Re-imagined Workplace Survey found 53% of businesses wanted their offices to feature more space for collaboration in 2021. 63% anticipate a greater focus on the design and specifications of their offices, saying it will play a crucial part in inspiring collective creativity and innovation. This year, businesses won’t just want basic desk space, but rather spaces that perpetuate collaboration.

BUSINESSES WILL ADOPT A CORE-AND-FLEX APPROACH TO OFFICE SPACE

Start-ups, small businesses and the like are not the only ones that will gravitate towards serviced and co-working spaces and short-term rolling leases. Larger enterprises are likely to maintain a headquarters alongside investing in smaller satellite offices and purpose-driven, flexible workspaces. This core-and-flex approach will create a fluid real estate portfolio across businesses.

THE ‘SIX-FEET OFFICE’ WILL PREVAIL

Last year introduced us to the ‘six-feet office’, and in this aspect the workplace of 2021 will mirror that of 2020. Low-density layouts that support social distancing, contactless technology, frequent and meticulous cleaning regimes, increased ventilation, hand sanitiser stations and safety signage will continue to be norms. Offices will also need to support dynamic occupancy, a pivot away from the pre-pandemic open-plan layout but optimal for employees rotating in and out of the office.

BUSINESSES WILL INVEST IN EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAMMES

All told, the stress and anxiety of the last year has been tremendous. According to a Willis Towers Watson survey, more than two-thirds of employers believe the pandemic has had a serious impact on employee wellbeing and now consider mental health services and resilience management one of their top priorities. Companies such as Deloitte have even demonstrated a five-to-one return on investing in employee wellbeing programmes. In the face of sustained strain, employee wellness will become crucial to doing business.

 

The Abu Dhabi future energy company, Masdar, has joined up with Emirates NBD to create the country’s first sustainable real estate investment trust.

Dubbed the “Masdar Green Reit” the new entity will offer investors an opportunity to buy into a plethora of sustainable real estate options.

Some of the options included in the portfolio include several properties in Masdar City in the capital, all of which consume significantly less electricity and water (approximately 40 per cent less) than other buildings in the city.

“Investors are increasingly looking for ‘responsible’ investment opportunities and evaluate companies based on specific environmental, social and governance practices criteria. [In this way] the Masdar Green Reit gives investors that option by investing in sustainable income-generating real estate assets, with a primary focus in Masdar City,” said Abdulla Balalaa, the acting executive director of sustainable real estate at Masdar City.

Out of the primary sustainable offerings at Masdar City, one has obtained a US-recognised LEED Platinum rating, while three have a three Pearl rating from Abu Dhabi’s Estidama system.

Masdar suggested they were confident that the move would lead to future, similar developments: “”The Masdar Green Reit will also assist more sustainable real estate assets coming to market by providing institutional funding to support the future expansion of Masdar City through new sustainable developments,” a spokesperson for the group said.

_{Photo Credit: www.masdar.ae}

The KSA 2020 Year In Review report by industry experts JLL has revealed that while Saudi Arabia’s real estate market - like much of the world - was affected by COVID-19, it was sheltered from the worst effects by confident government action. “While much of 2020 was prioritizing the response to COVID-19, Saudi Arabia remained focused on growth and stability, long-term economic sustainability, diversification and an enhanced quality of life for its people...Given the strong government support for the sector, demand for KSA’s residential properties remained active in 2020,” the report said.

THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON DIFFERENT SECTORS

Despite the residential market being largely protected from the worst effects of COVID-19, the retail sector was affected, according to JLL. The real estate experts said that it “ witnessed an immediate impact” from the impact of the 2020 pandemic, due to the movement restrictions caused by health policy directed at limiting the spread of the virus. “In addition, the increase in VAT levels and suspension of public sector allowances placed downward pressure on household incomes, leading to a prioritization of spending. This resulted in lower footfalls and in-store revenues. Average rental rates in super regional and regional malls declined by 5% and 10% in Riyadh and Jeddah respectively in Q4 2020 versus Q4 2019. Similarly, rental rates in Makkah and DMA decreased by 10% and 3%, respectively,” the report said.

More positively however, the office sector’s impact from the spread of the virus was “muted” across the key cities of Jeddah, Makkah, Riyadh and Dammam Metropolitan Area (DMA), according to JLL. 

ROBUST GOVERNMENT POLICY

The report stressed that government action had been key to the country’s real estate industry not suffering the worst effects of the virus’ market impact. “Even though there are sectors in KSA’s property market which remain challenged as a result of COVID-19, the government is looking beyond the implications of the pandemic by continuing to support a number of measures and by investing massively in various projects to achieve its Vision 2030 goals,” said Dana Salbak, Head of Research MENA at JLL.

_{Photo Credit: Mishaal Zahed & Mohammed Hassanon Unsplash}

While office life is slowly getting back to normal, companies are now trying to piece together what exactly this new ‘normal’ will be. And that will have interesting and important ramifications on the commercial real estate industry in the Middle East.

Indeed, due to the ongoing pandemic, businesses are grappling with the issue of returning workers back to safe and clean office environments, as well as managing a hybrid workforce that may be quite comfortable ‘working from home’. Still, there are some new trends in workplace technology that should help get offices back up to full strength; from streamlined communications that will make working from the office more efficient to new touch-friendly experiences that will keep staff ever-protected.

Here are some of the ways technology will affect workplaces of the future, arguably for the better.

WORK WILL BE QUICKER AND MORE STREAMLINED

Data from Microsoft’s Modern Workplace Transformation team suggests that on average, people working from home clock-in an extra four hours more per week, than in-office counterparts. That’s down to a decrease in time spent in meetings, and greater time spent working after-hours, or over the weekends (which can be attributed to the blurring of work-life boundaries).

If businesses want to cash in on their workforce’s greater efficiencies, they will have to be more accommodating to their worker’s schedules. To support virtual meetings, for example, businesses will need to think beyond meeting rooms meant to accommodate large teams of people and look to smaller and more customizable booths. Companies will also have to ensure the same work-from-home tools employees have been utilizing over the past nine months continue to function – giving them the same connectivity at work, as they do at home.

HOW CAN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY SUPPORT THIS INNOVATION?

First and foremost, property owners need to understand the businesses that occupy their buildings.

From flexi-office setups that let staff choose layouts that best suit their way of work, to ensuring technology infrastructure remains upgraded and useful – landlords need to find ways to create great experiences for those who return to the office. And the more they can do to ease the transition between digital work and physical work, the better.

_{Photo Credit: Copernico on Unsplash}

With an excess in supply, the Dubai property market is set to become more affordable this year.

This news comes on the back of a property slowdown for the UAE, which has been attributed to both the challenging oil markets and the slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to reports, property prices were 8 percent lower in Dubai in the fourth quarter of last year, and 4 percent lower in Abu Dhabi.

OVERSUPPLY WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE PROPERTY MARKET WELL INTO 2021

Unfortunately, it will take some time before the property market bottoms out. That’s down to the fact that an increasing number of commercial and residential units continue to go online, and the UAE’s oversupply continues to build.

According to numbers released by the research division of JLL, more than 53,000 homes will be handed over in 2021, which will lead to a 9 percent increase on the total 595,000 residential units already on the market in Dubai at the end of last year.

Both the oversupply and number of units expected to be delivered in Abu Dhabi is lower, at 265,000 and 15,000 respectively.

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Fortunately, the UAE government has several events and initiatives in place that aim to turn this trend around.

Dubai Expo is expected to stimulate demand, which is scheduled to start in October of this year. The event is expected to boost corporate travel and commercial tourism, both of which would certainly benefit the market.

Late last year, the UAE also amended its commercial companies’ law that required onshore companies to have a majority Emirati shareholder. The move opened up the country to increase future foreign investment, and will arguably drive both residential and commercial property demand in the country.

Other initiatives, such as relaxation for visas for expatriate retirees will only further stimulate interest in the property market.

The MENA region’s 10 most influential brokers and real estate consultants:

 

   

 Lynette Abad, Director, Research & Data Property Finder

 

 

 

 

 Abdullah Alajaji, Founder, Driven Properties

 

 

 

 

 

 Ian Albert, CEO, MENA Colliers 

 

 

 

 

 

 Carl & Lewis Allsopp, Co-Founders, Allsopp & Allsopp

 

 

 

 

 

 Ameen Al Qudsi, CEO, Nationwide Middle East Properties 

 

 

 

 

 

 Hamza Betraoui, Managing Director, Land Sterling 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Edd Brookes, Head of Middle East, Cushman & Wakefield

 

 

 

 

 

 Taimur Khan, Associate Partner - Strategic Consultancy & Research, Knight Frank 

 

 

 

 

 

 Nick Maclean, Managing Director, CBRE 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dana Salbak, Head of Research, MENA, JLL

 

 

 

*This list is in no particular order and has been put together based on nominations and data collected by Cityscape Intelligence

The MENA brokers and real estate consultants power list is sponsored by houza, the UAE's biggest agency-owned real estate website.

Launched in late 2020, houza is the UAE’s new home for buying, seller and renting. It offers a unique broker-supported model and is already making waves in the Dubai portal industry. This month, it rolled out transaction data for property seekers and sellers to access the last five transactions on listings for similar properties in the same area - something which has not been done before in the region. It is also the first portal to enable visitors to the site to book property valuations with agents directly through the platform. Its proposition is to make the entire property search experience as transparent, insightful and user-friendly as possible, both for consumers and the brokers who list their properties on houza.