A new real estate industry report released by Informa Markets, the organiser of Cityscape’s Real Estate Summit, has surveyed 488 property industry professionals from the MENA region.
Respondents ranging from developers and architects, to private and institutional investors, consultants, estate agents and government staff, were asked about the region’s residential, commercial, retail, industrial and hospitality sectors.
Asked what appear to be mainly qualitative questions, the report lacks any scientific undertone and presents mainly sentiment-based, and often very predictable findings.
For example, we’re told 58% of respondents believe monthly residential property rental contracts will become more common as the marketplace becomes more competitive.
No surprises there. In a market with excess supply coupled with spending constraints, it’s only natural that landlords feel pressured to be more flexible. Under such market forces the longstanding tradition of charging rent quarterly, half-yearly or even annually in advance simply has to go the way of the cassette tape.
Elsewhere the report highlights some of the key factors necessary for a recovery in the commercial real estate (CRE) segment.
Flexible contracts, internet speed and space for social distancing. Does it really need a 500 respondent survey to tell us these are the things that CRE landlords need to offer to attract demand?
Now look, we know we’re coming across as terribly cynical so let’s balance things out a bit.
In fairness the good people over at Informa are doing their best to gather market information and make it available and transparent. All good things. The UAE and MENA real estate markets certainly need greater data transparency; but they need quality data, not noise.
There were a few highlights. We enjoyed learning that over 86% of respondents believe foreign direct investment (FDI) is one of the market’s main growth drivers, and that the GCC/Levant countries, together with China, will be the key source markets for it.
Ultimately most of the report’s findings will already be known to you. And while there may not be much that’s new or informative, it’s helpful to have information taken from a wide spectrum of your industry peers, packaged and placed at your fingertips.
You never know when you’re next going to drop a relevant soundbite into a customer conversation, that’ll help you get that deal over the line.
Click here to download your own copy of the Informa Markets report.
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