Burj Khalifa-developer Emaar Properties’ third-quarter net profit surged 20 percent, showing strong demand for the developer’s properties despite a wider real estate slowdown in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai’s real estate market has recently experienced an extended period of oversupply and falling prices.
The emirate’s largest developer reported a net profit of 1.33 billion dirhams ($362 million) in the quarter from July to September, up from 1.11 billion dirhams ($302 million), a year earlier.
Emaar said in a statement that the growth was due to “continuous interest from foreign investors in both residential and commercial developments as well as new, first-time home buyers entering the UAE property market.”
The company’s revenue also grew by 14 percent to 6.08 billion dirhams ($1.65 billion) in the third quarter.
Recent reforms in the real estate sector will boost Dubai’s appeal in the long run to a larger cohort of firms that are looking to open and expand operations across the Middle East, Knight Frank said in a report on the emirate’s office market last month.
“Given regulatory changes such as the introduction of dual licensing and the 100 percent foreign ownership law, which permits 122 activities across 13 sectors for 100 percent foreign ownership, alongside subdued demand, we expect rents will continue to fall over the short to medium term,” the report said.
