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Olaia artist's impression

Luxury Olaia Residences launches on Palm Jumeirah

Dubai developer Gulf House Real Estate has launched Olaia Residences, its first luxury development, for sale in the heart of Palm Jumeirah. The upscale residential project is planned to open in 2027 and will consist of one-to-three-bedroom apartments and three-to-five-bedroom duplexes.  State-of-the-art amenities will include indoor and rooftop pools, a wellness centre, a mini-golf course […]

May 7, 2025
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Saudi Arabia's push for real estate growth has intensified with stricter land tax regulations under the White Land Tax Law

Tax changes penalise Saudis who hoard vacant land

Amendments to land taxes in Saudi Arabia will make it more expensive for property owners to hold on to undeveloped land for long periods of time, or to buy and sell land quickly, tax experts have said. Changes to the White Land Tax Law in the kingdom, which were ratified on Tuesday, aim to encourage […]

May 2, 2025
Construction in Dubai. Two-thirds of the 176,737 homes bought in the emirate last year were off plan

Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan

A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […]

April 9, 2025

Latest Real Estate News

Music at Nizwa fort. Oman is spending $15bn on smart cities but critics say tourists are attracted to Oman by its tradition and heritage

Oman smart city projects face pushback on heritage

Oman may be investing more than $15 billion in developing digitally smart urban areas but critics say the ambition could contravene the country’s heritage priorities. The sultanate has mobilised urban plans that could cost more than $15 billion, starting with Sultan Haitham City, work on which is in full swing on the outskirts of the […]

Emaar India, Emaar Adani Group

Emaar’s Indian unit expands amid sale talks

The Indian subsidiary of Dubai-listed Emaar Properties has launched a new housing project in the state of Uttar Pradesh amid buyout talks with the local business Adani Group. The launch follows reports in March that the Dubai developer was planning to sell its Indian venture for $1.4 billion to a conglomerate led by billionaire Gautam […]

Medina construction, Medina hotel room construction, Medina tourism, Medina development

Medina plays catch-up to Mecca’s expansion

Hajj pilgrims arriving at the Grand Mosque in Mecca this week will be the first in more than a decade to see a skyline free of construction cranes. Now that the long-delayed expansion of Islam’s holiest site is complete, the cranes that long dominated the area have been taken down. The renovations have doubled the […]

The Fahid Island development will have a 4.6km beachfront on one side and mangrove forests on the other, with retail and hospitality components

Aldar says Fahid Island development will cost $11bn

Aldar Properties, the largest Abu Dhabi-listed developer by market capitalisation, will build more than 6,000 luxury residences on Fahid Island, one of its largest mixed-use masterplans in the emirate.    The gross development value of the project is estimated at more than AED40 billion ($10.89 billion), the developer said in a statement. The company announced […]

Emaar Development's new Dubai plot is in Ras Al Khor, where other developers have launched projects

Emaar Development buys new land in Dubai for $790m

Emaar Development, the UAE development arm of Emaar Properties, has acquired a new land plot in Dubai for the potential expansion of its master communities. The land, the size of which was not disclosed, was acquired for AED2.9 billion ($790 million) from Amlak Property Investment in Ras Al Khor, the developer said in a statement. The […]

Dubai Marina skyline. A massive pipeline of over 250,000 new units is set to hit the market by 2026, prompting experts to predict a potential price adjustment and a cooling period

Dubai property optimism remains despite price correction warnings

Real estate professionals in Dubai are maintaining a cautiously optimistic outlook on the market, even as fresh warnings of a potential double-digit correction cast a shadow over the city’s record-breaking property surge. Ratings agency Fitch forecast this week that Dubai’s residential property market is likely to cool through the second half of 2025 and into […]

Asif Aziz: 'There are people still living in rented accommodation in Abu Dhabi – it's that market we want to target.'

Asif Aziz: from the heart of London to Al Maryah Island

Asif Aziz owns more of Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus than any other individual.  His holdings include the Criterion Building, a West End landmark best known as the setting where Dr Watson first hears the name Sherlock Holmes; the former Trocadero, which housed music halls and cinemas from the 1890s; and One Leicester Square, overlooking […]

Dubai City residential houses. With tokenised assets projected to represent up to 7% of its real estate market by 2033, Dubai is pioneering the digital transformation of property ownership

Dubai issues Middle East’s first tokenised property certificate

Dubai has issued its first tokenised property certificate, moving tokenisation of real estate from the realm of theory to practice. Tokenisation is the process of creating and trading digital tokens that are backed by real-world assets on a blockchain. It enables direct and verifiable peer-to-peer transactions. The certificate’s launch follows the successful sale of the […]

Azad Properties, Bawabat Al-Senaya, Riyadh workshop city, Riyadh industrial city

Saudi developer to build $400m ‘workshop city’

A Saudi developer is planning to borrow SAR1.5 billion ($400 million) from banks to fund a workshop and warehousing development in Riyadh. Azad Properties plans to build ‘Bawabat Al-Senaya’, which means industrial gate, and aims to attract around 400 companies. Its CEO Ayman Al-Burti told CNBC Arabia TV news that the scheme would be launched […]

Central street of Medina. Smaller properties such as apartments are in high demand in Saudi Arabia

Saudi housing changes may stoke demand for smaller properties

A decision to reduce the minimum age at which nationals receive support to buy houses is likely to increase the number of homeowners in Saudi Arabia but could push up the price for smaller properties such as apartments, which are already in high demand, analysts say. The amendment, which was approved by the cabinet on […]

PIF unit Ardara said the first phase of AlWadi in Aseer province includes retail space, apartments and villas and two hotels

PIF unit commits millions to back Aseer province growth

Ardara, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is making multi-million-dollar investment in Aseer province in the south of the kingdom to support urban development in line with Vision 2030. Work was launched this week on AlWadi – meaning “the valley”– after it was first announced in October 2023, the state-run Saudi Press […]

Inverstcorp has sold US assets in Atlanta, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Missouri and Florida

Investcorp Capital exits 12 US residential assets

Investcorp Capital, majority owned by Bahrain-based Investcorp, has exited 12 residential multiple-occupancy real estate assets across five states in the US. The exit was secured at $550 million, the company said in a statement. The company claimed the sale was at a “premium” but did not disclose further gains “Though rent growth has cooled from the […]

Emaar’s project backlog – the value of the under-construction properties it has sold off-plan – totals AED100bn

UAE property developers bank on huge order backlogs

The UAE’s largest property developers are likely to post rising profits in the coming quarters as under-construction projects reach new milestones. This will enable them to book revenue from their vast order backlogs, analysts predict. Most listed developers reported big year-on-year increases in first-quarter profits. Emaar Properties’ Q1 profit rose 27 percent to just over […]

Villas on Palm Jumeirah. Dubai Residential REIT shares rose 15% during the first day of trading

Dubai Residential REIT takes off on bourse debut

Dubai Residential REIT surged on its bourse debut on Wednesday as investors who missed out on its $584 million initial public offering (IPO) bought the stock.  The success is being seen as an indication of enduring confidence in the emirate’s buoyant property sector. A real estate investment trust (REIT) owns or finances income-generating property, enabling […]

2WR87A4 speech of His Excellency Salim bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, Omani Minister of Heritage and Tourism, ITB Berlin Convention - tourism fair, City Cube Messe Oman tourism

Oman awards $600m contracts for tourism projects

Oman has awarded contracts worth more than $600 million to build three tourist resorts and an adventure park as it steps up efforts to compete with its Gulf neighbours for hospitality revenue and create jobs for its citizens. “This is another important milestone to attract more tourists in the country and property investors as part […]

Residential blocks in Baghdad. Egypt's TMG will build 46,000 mixed-use units in the southwest of the Iraqi capital

Egypt’s Talaat Moustafa announces first Iraqi project

Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG), a leading Egyptian real estate developer, will develop a mixed-use project in Iraq as part of its regional expansion plan. Last week the developer announced plans to invest OR1.5 billion ($3.9 billion) in Oman to develop two projects in west Muscat, offering 13,000 residential and hotel units. The Iraq development, proposed […]

A construction worker wearing a yellow hard hat and safety vest is working on a building site, kneeling on a steel framework. The background shows an unfinished building structure and a crane.

AI adoption could help meet ambitious Vision 2030 targets

Construction companies in Saudi Arabia are increasingly looking to artificial intelligence to reduce waste and speed up delivery times, industry experts say. AI software is already in use in the country to help speed up the design and development of billions of dollars in projects.  But increased adoption of cutting-edge technology is needed to meet […]