Wealth Monitor April 2016 | Page 18

PORTFOLIO | Property Ready Reckoner The Realty Bet Is 2016 going to be a reprise of 2008 for the UAE real estate market, or a turnaround is in the offing? Sunil Kumar Singh tries to explore T here’s been lots of talk going around UAE property market ‘slowdown’ — from buyers/investors singing the blues, speculations about things going from bad to worse, to likening current market conditions to those of 2008, among others. Isn’t the slowdown much hyped? Following a flurry of noisy and negative gyrations going nowhere, several recent trends reiterate that the fundamentals of the real estate market are being overlooked or misinterpreted. Despite talk of gloom, however, there’re reasons to believe the property market remains resilient. The market seems to be in for a quiet year and many suppose because there was a rush into property a few years back, it can be unsettling to see the market going through 16 www.wealth-monitor.com | April 2016