Where’s Dubai headed?

Where’s Dubai headed?

A list of recent quotes from people and companies predicting what the emirate can look forward to in the near future.

June 17, 2009 11:00 by Aarti Nagraj

1. Dubai house prices will fall another 20 percent this year, because of the economic downturn, according to a Reuters poll. “We may see a further drop in prices as the magnitude of the problem in the sector is still high and the recovery of the sector may take some more time,” Sajeer Babu, an equity analyst at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said in the poll.

2. Property consultancy Knight Frank said that property prices fell 40 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. “It could go a lot worse or it could be that a number of buyers decide that property has dropped by a big amount and it is time to buy. The overriding sentiment is still one of caution,” Nicholas Barnes, head of international business at Knight Frank, told Maktoob Business.

3. According to a recent report by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai’s GDP will be adversely affected this year because of the crisis. However, the emirate’s growth is expected to remain strong from a global perspective, it said.

“The Dubai authorities’ repetitive tone that it will use strong fiscal expansion to ensure the economy bounces back especially in the construction sector will mean that the economy will maintain strong growth going forward,” it said.

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Tags: airport, Dubai, Economy, Financial Crisis, market, property prices, Retail, shopping, spending