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Financial Crisis an Opportune Moment to Buy Property

DUBAI — Taking advantage of the depressed UAE property markets at this time of recession might prove to be a good idea, as it will be compounded by lower global interest rates, to counter the crisis, say industry experts.

“Real estate is a traditional hedge against inflation and that will become a force in the UAE market as GCC rents head upwards again making real estate ownership the only way to beat surging rents,” says Dr Rasim Kaan Aytogu, Group Executive Director of Saudi Arabia based, Tanmiyat Investment Group.

He said it is a resumption of the investment circle favouring property investment and will be compounded by lower global interest rates to counter the recession (which are again inflationary), hence making it cheaper to buy property in UAE, according to a Press release.

“All the same, this could ascertain to be no more than a short bull market correction for UAE property. But that’s not going to prevent it from being painful and terminal for some off-plan investors and weaker property developers,” he said.

Dr. Kaan said it’s hard to see foreign money flowing back quickly into UAE real estate as the revaluation of the US dollar is making property here much more expensive for buyers from the UK, Europe and Russia. However, foreign money flows should resume as global capital markets thaw out and money is attracted by the prospect of higher returns.

“Factors that could stabilise the market advance of the worldwide inflationary surge include: government action to provide low-cost mortgage finance; incoming funds from overseas markets in a repeat of the flow after 9/11 which energised the Dubai real estate boom; former local stock market investors turning to property for high yields; and the lack of alternative investment opportunities overseas during a turbulent financial period,” said Dr. Kaan.

Governments of the world have not been standing idle over the past eight weeks as the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression has spread around the globe.

Bank bailout packages now total more than $4 trillion, about twice the annual GDP of Great Britain and over the past six weeks US money supply has risen by 35 per cent, a historically unprecedented increase in the money supply.

Almost all economists agree that an increase in the money supply on this epic scale and after a long period of flat money supply growth is going to be heroically inflationary.

williamfaria@khaleejtimes.com