Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings agency, AS&P Global, expected the United Arab Emirates’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by more than 5% in 2024, surpassing the agency’s projected rate for the global economy, which stands at 2.8%.
Tatyana Leskova, Assistant Director for Corporate Affairs at the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries in Standard & Poor’s global credit rating agency, stated to the Emirates News Agency “WAM” that while the global economy has been growing at weak rates, we appreciate that the United Arab Emirates’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by more than 3% in 2023, including a growth of around 6% for the non-oil sector.
We expect the growth of the UAE economy to surpass the global economic growth rates in 2024.
Regarding Dubai, the Assistant Director of Corporate Affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries at the global credit rating agency, Standard and Poor’s, expected the strong momentum to continue in the hospitality, wholesale and retail trade, and financial services sectors, driving growth in the upcoming period of 2024-2025.
Regarding the real estate market in the UAE, Tatiana Leskova said that the number of mortgage transactions in Dubai continues to grow and that over 80% of real estate transactions are cash-based.
Meanwhile, the European real estate market has been characterized by weakened purchasing power since 2022 due to high interest rates and relatively high inflation.
The Chinese market also remains a challenge for developers relying on loans, as profit margins are being limited and prices have decreased, putting pressure on profitability. On a slightly brighter note, the situation in the United States has improved as demand increased at the start of 2023 after a period of slowdown.
Regarding the notable trends in real estate investments in the UAE, Tatiana Liskova pointed out the significant increase in the number of Russian buyers, making them one of the largest groups of investors in Dubai.
She stated that Indian and European buyers, along with buyers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, continue to be the largest investors according to historical trends.
Liskova pointed out that real estate developers have indicated a growth in property sales on the plan over the past three years, reaching a record level in 2023.
According to reports, the real estate sector has benefited from the recovery in demand from international buyers, as well as the ongoing interest from local and regional buyers.
(wam)
