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While luxury remains the dominant theme of the $2.39 trillion GCC real estate market, GRES 2008 points out that last year's buzz of sustainability and green initiatives have also remained strong this year. GRES 2008 also identifies new practices including the increase of Gulf destinations re-branding in an effort to focus more on their cities and overall image; this has been the case with Abu Dhabi, which recently reworked its property law resulting to a swift transformation into a major stakeholder of the regional real estate market with over $460bn in real estate projects.
"The Gulf real estate market is at a crossroads. It has matured considerably since 2001, but this year we also witnessed widespread concern, corruption and increasing government intervention. It will be very interesting to see how its next phase of growth evolves,"
said Rina Plapler, Senior Executive Director at FutureBrand.
"To succeed in this highly competitive environment, one must be fully aware of the market nuances, while it is equally important to be able to process information and create suitable action plans and goals. In this regard, GRES 2008 serves as an invaluable resource for any serious market player as it is a powerful tool that identifies areas of saturation, marketing weaknesses, regional and global comparisons and the proprietary quantitative research. This year, Cityscape again serves as the perfect venue to unveil the new GRES edition as the event remains the definitive platform for real estate investment in the region," added Plapler.
GRES 2008 also discusses the impact of the GCC's enormous infrastructure investments on real estate brand building; some $400m in infrastructure projects have been earmarked for the next three years and this includes substantial investments to develop new airports, which GRES considers as "valuable real estate, economic catalysts and destinations." Another emerging trend being featured in GRES 2008 is the increase in use of Arabic, which reveals the region's growing confidence in its own history and authenticity as many now look for unique brand voices from within.
As always, GRES features an enlightening look into homebuyer attitudes and perceptions in the GCC. The research provides insights into what buyers want, what motivates them and what factors drive their purchase decisions. The study includes a list of preferred developers in the region, favoured types of accommodation, the most coveted locations, and home features with the broadest market appeal, which FutureBrand has labelled the Decision Index, a valuable slant for developers when considering product mix.
Posted by Ehab Al-Abbadi
