Al Mazaya Holding, one of the leading real estate developers in the region, has expressed its satisfaction at the performance of real estate and investment activities in the Gulf area in general, and in the UAE in particular. The company stated that Dubai's property market will always be an investment destination, due to the numerous factors that enable the market so appealing, in spite of the existing international crisis. Eng. Khalid Esbaitah, managing director and CEO of Al Mazaya Holding, said: “There are three factors that form the major constituents that any successful investment relies on; firstly population growth, individual income second, and third, and most importantly, the solidity of the country's economy to achieve economical growth, liquidity flow and income diversity. UAE has all these three factors. “The country has successfully been able to use population growth in such an efficient way that it has increased employment, production and has attracted experience. UAE was second in terms of individual income, as reported by the National bank of Kuwait. Most importantly, UAE was able to diversify its income sources by not relying on one sector alone, such as oil sector, etc… but by having an investment rising in all profitable sectors, including air travel, tourism, media, and others. This means that the UAE was able to protect its economy, providing the necessary basis for an economical growth that doesn't get affected by any economical troubles.” Esbaitah considered that the current decline in oil prices will not affect the different investment activities, including real estate investments, in the short term. This is because the investment sector has profited greatly from the leap that the oil sector has witnessed during the last while. About the real estate sector, Esbaitah said: “Gulf and UAE markets, and especially that of Dubai, have a strong economy, high liquidity flow and remarkable growth rates. These factors protect the economy from succumbing to any international crises, including the recent global financial crisis. UAE has a market that relies on cash where buyers make an installment plan to their properties' value, which means that, unlike US and European markets where buyers must use real estate loans, buyers here don't have to borrow money via that means.” Esbaitah stressed the importance of decisions that RERA has taken in the form of items 8 and 13, which has regulated market activities, attracted foreign investment and increased investors' trust in the real estate sector. Esbaitah also pointed out that the Government of Dubai's decision to guarantee bank deposits has attracted foreign money and recovered a lot of local capital working outside the country, to be used for projects in the UAE. “It is important to remember that annual real estate profits in the UAE range between 8 to 14 percent, as compared to 4 percent in other markets, meaning that this market will continue to attract investments for many years to come,” he added. __
