Agents and developers target middle east buyers
Middle East investment in property overseas surged 64 per cent in the first half of 2015. As buyers from the UAE and Gulf step up their demand for real estate, agents in other countries are increasingly targeting this growing group of investors.
Figures from CBRE show that the value of foreign real estate purchases by Middle East investors surged 64 per cent to $11.5 billion in the first six months of 2015.
"The size of the region's foreign investment makes the Middle East the third-largest source of cross regional capital globally as Arab investors look for brighter investment prospects internationally," Nick Maclean, CBRE Middle East managing director, said in an official statement.
Savills highlights the growing interest from Arab countries in property from other nations, with research singling out the UK as a key destination. Indeed, London has made up 35 per cent of Arab institutional investments in the last three years. Paris, Manhattan, Milan, Sydney and Washington are also notably popular.
For those just from the UAE, over half of European institutional investment has focused on the UK, with 28 per cent on France.
"In spite of the increased capital gains tax for foreigners and the punitive duties on unoccupied property, overseas investors have not been discouraged," the advisors tell Gulf News. "Compared to other European countries like France and Spain, which have wealth taxes, the UK is still an attractive bet."
Outside of the usual European suspects, Turkey has also proven attractive for Middle Eastern investors. The country's property market saw house sales climb 6.5 per cent year-on-year in August 2015, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Overseas buyers are making up a growing number of those purchases, with the number foreign buyers rising 15.2 per cent year-on-year.
Diana DoÄŸan, CBRE Turkey's Head of Research, explains: "In the second-home holiday market, there has been a significant increase in private investors in the residential sector from the Middle East with activity firmly focused in the country's northwest, particularly the Marmara Sea and Black Sea regions, as well as Istanbul, Bursa, and Yalova."
The trend is being backed up by the country's tourism industry: recent data released by the Istanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate revealed that the number of Arab tourists in Turkey has almost doubled since 2010, taking its share of tourists to nearly 20 per cent.
Adil Yaman, Director of Universal21, says that buyers from Gulf States have long been the top nationality purchasing properties within its Istanbul projects - such as Diamond Residence in an upmarket district of Istanbul - but that there has been "a noticeable uplift in enquiry levels in recent months".
Now, agents are increasingly targeting this growing group of buyers.
In Dubai, where Cityscape Global has just taken place, the number of Turkish exhibitors at the show doubled compared to a year ago.
The International Real Estate & Investment Show, which takes place in Abu Dhabi from Friday 29th to Saturday 31st October, has also seen demand from agents increase: last year, the show welcomed 84 exhibitors representing 22 countries. This year, over 100 exhibitors will attend from over 25 countries.
A growing number of developers are also signing up to attend the upcoming OPP International Networking Day, which is being held in association with IREIS.
The event, which takes place on Friday 29th October, will be attended by developers from Spain, Cyprus, Thailand and the UK and will feature highly organised one-to-one meetings and informal networking opportunities with local agents. Designed to generate business relationships, the day will provide a fast, efficient route into a new market for international delegates and new overseas products for local companies to sell to this increasingly active market.
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