After three years of recession, the UAE’s construction and real estate sectors appear to be regaining their sparkle, reported the Khaleej Times. With many of the players having withdrawn from the market, local construction is leaner and meaner today than it was in its days of plenty.
According to Ahmed Saif Belhasa, chairman of the UAE Contractors Association, the construction sector is considerably better organized than it was in the past, with more rigid rules and regulations having curbed some of the bad practices of the contracting profession.
More than 800 million dirhams worth of apartments and plots were sold last week, in areas such as Jumairah, Al-Baraha and Al-Awir. But the sellers most probably saw a smaller profit than they would have earlier. During the boom years, profits on real estate sales used to run as high as 25-30 percent, but so far that figure has fallen into the single digits.
Rental prices fell during the recession. A one-room apartment that may have rented for Dh 23,000 three years ago today goes for Dh 16,000 or less. — (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
