Industry experts also say the UAE’s retail and tourism sectors are likely to see boost from Gulf-Qatar agreement
The real estate sector in the UAE could be one of the major winners from the deal to welcome Qatar back into the GCC family, according to industry experts.
The UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt on Tuesday in signing an accord with Qatar during a summit of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders, effectively ending a three-and-a-half year split between the countries.
From a real estate perspective Qatar is an important investor internationally including to countries of the GCC and so the removal of any restriction on the free flow of capital would be positive to regional marketplaces. Additionally, businesses in the UAE have had a long tradition of operating in Qatar and so a rapprochement should be particularly economically beneficial here.
According to figures from Dubai Land Department, real estate transactions from 2016 exceeded AED91 billion from 55,928 investors. This included 1,006 investors from Qatar purchasing property in the emirate.
While the immediate impact will depend on how quickly ownership rules are    re-instated, the restoration of relations with Qatar, one of the Gulf’s leading outbound real estate investors, is certainly a welcome development.
It will likely take time for Qatari investors to gauge UAE market opportunities, and for trust to be re-established, having been given a limited window to divest back in 2017.
The restoration of relations should also support the recovery of the UAE’s retail and hotel sectors, with high-spending Qatari tourists, previously key consumers of both luxury goods and hospitality services.
