Dubai real estate projects 'lost touch with reality'

The vice president of the Trump Organisation was speaking during the first day of the Cityscape Dubai exhibition, a key point in the emirate's real estate calendar, and an event whose reception by the market has been eagerly anticipated by sector observers.

'It got to a point where crazy projects were coming up, and people thought that the only way to keep up was to announce an even crazier one. There was no longer any concept of tracking the cost or sustainability of a development versus the returns...Not every project can be the 'biggest' and 'the best'.'

Despite this, Trump said that Dubai's property market was still in a relatively good position regionally, and that it was in a much stronger position than articles in the international media had reported.

Trump warned that Dubai had to continue to increase transparency and legislation in the sector, as the city was now competing not just against other emerging markets, but also against developed economies.

'The days of relying on 100% foreign buyers as a base are over, you have to bring it into perspective,' Trump said.

'As [prices across] the world continue to go down, it becomes more attractive to foreign investors to look at their own backyards again. The focus of attraction switches from emerging markets back to developed ones, so you are now contending against everyone else, rather than just in the region.'

Trump added that the group had not completely cancelled its Trump Towers project, which had been scheduled for construction on the Palm Jumeirah.

'We have a great partnership with Nakheel, and when the project makes sense we will go ahead with it. I wouldn't say that it's going to happen any time soon, but it is eventually going to be a great asset.'

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