Egyptians registered second place among non-GCC Arab investors in Dubai's real estate market with AED 1.37 billion ($370 million) during the first half of 2016, a statement by Dubai's Land Department (DLD) announced. According to the release by DLD, non-Gulf Arab investors contributed 7,577 investments worth AED 7 billion, with Jordanian investors coming in first with 765 investments worth over AED 1.5 billion. Lebanese investors came in third place with investments worth more than AED 1 billion, stemming from 423 transactions. The transactions report, issued by Dubai's Real Estate Research and Studies Department, revealed that the sum total of real estate investment transactions for the first half of 2016 reached AED 57 billion by 26,000 investors of 149 nationalities. The report included details about non-Arab foreign investors as well as from Gulf countries, with total investments worth AED 28 billion and 22 billion, respectively. In the release, director-general of the DLD Sultan Butti Bin Merjen said that Dubai's real estate market was able to maintain its appeal, describing it as "one of the foremost property investment destinations in the world, bolstered by the decline in some regional economies and serious challenges faced by other countries around the globe." "The diversity of the investor base reflects the extensive range of different products offered by the real estate sector in Dubai, along with the quality and trust that investors place in its national economy." Real estate commentator Mahmoud Ibrahim told Ahram Online that he was not surprised by the amount of investments from Egyptians. "The Egyptian real estate market is no longer appealing, and it is not regulated like the Emirati market," Ibrahim said. According to Ibrahim, prices in Dubai's real estate market have been in decline since September 2014, attracting investors through the now better regulated and organised market by UAE's government. Ibrahim added that Egyptians may see better investment opportunities in Dubai "because there would not be a currency risk like in Egypt, especially with the dollar craze that has made people believe that there were no longer investment opportunities in Egypt." "The Egyptian real estate market should be more organised so as to become attractive again, laws that regulate investment operations have to be introduced by the government," Ibrahim concluded.
