International Property Show 2008 tops Dhs20bn in property sales

Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions, organisers of the show, have revealed that this year's exhibition welcomed 35,000 visitors and witnessed the biggest sales revenues in local, regional and international real estate in its history.

Extending their massive success in Dubai, the organisers announced that they will be launching the first International Property Show in Moscow, which is slated to run from October 24 - 26, 2008 at the Exhibition Center Crocus Expo, Moscow, in a bid to leverage the booming real estate sector in the European capital city and neighbouring countries.

"The success of the fourth International Property Show is a clear reflection of the tremendous development of the global market for real estate developments and services," said Dawood Al Shezawi, Managing Director, Strategic Marketing & Exhibitions. "Our steadfast focus to gather the biggest names in property development has resulted in a high impact convention where sales revenues amounting to Dhs20bn have been made, which is another outstanding development in the region's movement towards real estate maturity. We are also very pleased the event has facilitated the gathering of the movers and shakers who are shaping today's property development landscape, thereby proving the influence the event casts over the whole progress of the global market."

Among the local exhibitors, SNASCO has registered the highest achievements by selling 60% of its Sharjah Investment Centre during the event.

Developers who also wrapped up their successful participation included Fakhruddin Properties, which sold Dhs1.4bn worth of residential units or 60% of its Maimoon Twin Towers in Jumeirah Village South; Al Mazaya, which registered a tremendous 95% sales for its Queue Point project in only three days; and Baraka Investments, which witnessed 75% sales for its Crimson Court project.

In addition to high profile developers, real estate brokerage firms such as Coldwell Banker has also leveraged outstanding sales prospects at the event, having sold several units with a total value of Dhs8m.

"Our participation at the International Property Show 2008 has definitely reaped excellent benefits for us, not only in terms of sales and marketing opportunities, but also in extending our network, which now reaches beyond the Middle East to the European and Asian nations. We also applaud the tremendous efforts that went into incorporating an exclusive networking activity and seminars that discussed timely industry issues within the event. Most notably, the exhibitors' move to adhere to legal requirements, which remarkably boosted the trust of investors has been the most celebrated of all the new features the event has adopted this year," said Omar Mashabi, General Manager, Sharjah Investment Center, SNASCO.

US-based property developer Corcoran was among the many exhibitors who achieved tremendous success at this year's show, with potential buyers and exhibitors queuing up at the company's stand to obtain details of their luxury real estate projects.

Among Corcoran's projects that witnessed heavy demand were the 166 Perry Street in Manhattan; the W Hotel & Residences in Miami Beach; the $109m private Miami Island in Florida; the $52m oceanfront land for development in The Bahamas; and the Bench Creek Ranch in Nevada.

"The International Property Show 2008 has delivered beyond our expectations, as our participation in this event has been highlighted with exceptional networking opportunities and remarkable sales for the projects, which we have showcased at the show. Through our second participation at the show, we have recognised the advantages, which it has been providing to exhibitors in terms of showcasing unique projects to a highly targeted audience. We have high expectations for the 2009 show, as we intend to further strengthen our participation in next year's event," said Gabriel M. Bedoya, Vice President, Corcoran.

The event has also gathered remarkable feedback from international participants such as Sando Inmobiliaria, which has sold several apartments with a combined value of EUR274,000; and Plus Properties, which managed to generate approximately Dhs300m in sales revenues for its showcased projects at the event.

In addition to the presence of financial and banking institutions that conducted sales transactions in accordance to the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) guidelines, the event also featured seminars and a high value auction conducted by the Dubai Land Department.

Further, the event also hosted a Trust Account pavilion, which gathered financial institutions for an opportunity to show their trust account services authorized by RERA.

"It brings us great pride to have concluded another successful year for the International Property Show. As the first property exhibition to register and abide by the terms of RERA's regulations, we have definitely seen a boost in investor confidence as evident in the outstanding sales results this year. With the conclusion of the Dubai show, we urge the highly successful exhibitors to leverage the equally booming market in Europe by supporting the event's inaugural edition in Moscow," concluded Al Shezawi.