Out of the box

Real estate winners and losers

Ismail Al Hammadi

August 03, 2021

The latest research reports on the local real estate market indicate an increase in the average prices of residential units of all kinds (villas and apartments), both sale and rent by the end of the first half of this year, while the rate of increase in some of them exceeded 20%, indicating that the sector has begun to recover.

Expectations indicate another expected rise in the average price during the coming period, based on a set of contributing factors and circumstances, including the “Expo 2020 Dubai” exhibition period, and the complete liberation of the global travel and aviation sector from the restrictions of the “Covid-19” pandemic, with the high level of Vaccination in the country and the world.

In light of this level that prices have reached, and all the circumstances that contributed to their decline during previous periods, or their current rise, there is a loser and a winner.. so who are the winners and who are the losers?

The winners are the ones who were able to overcome their fears, especially with the beginning of the pandemic, as the incentive initiatives were different, the basket of facilities offered by developers and financial institutions varied, real estate prices at their lowest levels in the history of the market, and those who were able to buy a housing unit in that period, or even just Reserving a unit "on the plan", and taking advantage of all these circumstances, is the one who we say is the winner.

The winner is also the one who trusted the sector, and the market’s capabilities to overcome challenges, and despair did not creep into it. He did not get rid of his real estate unit and resell it at the lowest prices, and today he reaps its investment returns by renting it now, or even reselling it.

As for the losers, they are the exact opposite of them. They are the ones who surrendered to the negatives surrounding them, and adopted the common misinformation about the market and the sector, such as that the market is on the threshold of a collapse, or data indicating a further decline in purchase and rental prices, and others.

They kept anticipating that decline, while the opposite happened, as prices rose, the units that were the focus of their attention ran out of the market, the volume of facilities decreased, and the interest rate on real estate loans increased.

In short, all the opportunities that were in their hands were lost, and this is what actually happened to many because of my experience in the market.

At the end of the last quarter of last year, and the beginning of this year, the real estate market was full of very rewarding opportunities to buy and invest, and not to resell, as many buyers did, and the doors were different to increase and amplify investment portfolios, and expand the market rather than exit and withdraw.

In my opinion, the size of those opportunities will not be repeated again, and the winner will continue to reap the fruits of his understanding of market conditions and his adaptation to its emergency developments, and the loser laments his wrong expectation towards the market, and his short-sightedness towards the future.

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