One thing is for sure by now, most people around the world have heard something about Dubai.
Some have heard of the world’s most magical imaginative projects, others for its recent debt restructuring ambitions.
To follow the press from afar one could be led to believe that Dubai was down and out, like a prizefighter that had seen their last days in the championship victory ring.
True, Dubai has experienced in microwave speed, a transformation in its real estate industry, due mainly to speculative investor offerings falling short of expectations as the global financial community fell to their knees in 24 months ago.
But Dubai is still standing, and although leaner, it stands even taller as a testament to the Rulers vision of creating an oasis in the Gulf region.
Although projects have been delayed, postponed or outright cancelled, the spirit of Dubai is alive and well.
The projects that have been completed, in what most would say within record time, is staggering.
At a recent trade conference, The Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, delegates gathered to hear expert opinion from leaders from the USA involved in a niche industry that has attracted more than 4,000,000 investors around the world.
A combination of real estate with hospitality, market leaders in the shared ownership space expressed optimism on the growth potential of shared ownership within the Mena region, and in particular Dubai.
Speakers representing Four Seasons, Hilton Grand Vacations and Wyndham Group Rentals and Exchange shared case studies with hundreds of industry delegates, highlighting the opportunities to become first mover players in areas such as Lebanon, Sharm el Sheik and Dubai, with some pointing out that Abu Dhabi could soon join the list of preferred destinations.
“In Dubai, there is already huge amounts of quality real estate built and ready, which could be easily converted to top end shared ownership offerings, said Michael J. Tolan, CEO of World Class Group, a PR firm in the Middle east specializing in Shared Ownership.”
“Dubai has the dazzle and glamour ingredients that few destinations in world could ever hope to acquire, and its now a perfect opportunity for developers to engage this space by repackaging quality assets through shared ownership.” he added.
Our firm generally has from 3 to 4 requests per year from serious developers looking to build or convert projects into Shared Ownership, however in the past 3 months we have witnessed a 400% increase in developer interest.
The Shared Ownership forum was sponsored by Wyndham who operate the Registry Collection, global leaders in luxury lifestyle services to the multi billion-dollar industry of Fractional Ownership. Companies such as Absolute Group, Karma and IFA had pioneered offerings in Asia, Europe and Europe.
Fractional Life Magazine, an independent industry publication, recently announced a further unscheduled forum would be assembled in Abu Dhabi sometime in November 2010 to meet developer demand in the fast growing Mena region.
