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Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris expects the UAE property market to bounce back strongly and “continue booming”, as he announced a Dh30 billion ($8.17 billion) expansion of a "mini city" real estate project between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
“I am expecting the property market to continue booming,” Mr Sawiris told The National in Abu Dhabi. “Once this crisis [Iran conflict] is off the news, it will return to the previous boom ... now, it’s a matter of pause.”
Mr Sawiris is the chairman of Ora Developers, which is building a mixed-use development with 16,000 houses, business parks, hospitals, schools, retail outlets, offices, shopping malls and a hotel at Ghantoot on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.
The company announced the acquisition of additional land on Monday from Modon Properties to take the total development area at the Bayn project to 9.6 million square metres.
Construction of the first phase of the project started last year, with the company recording Dh2.7 billion in sales in 2025. It expects sales momentum to continue this year, with sales reaching about $1 billion for 2026.
“The second plot we want to do in a way that adds value to the first plot ... people will speak of Ghantoot city, a new city between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. You can work in Abu Dhabi and live here, you can work in Dubai and live here,” Mr Sawiris said.
There is a “pause” in the UAE property market with “prices going down”, and it can only “reflect that it is time to buy. You buy when people are willing to give a discount,” he added.
The UAE is the best-performing Arab country “under attack”, with the nation having thwarted 98 per cent of missile and drone attacks launched from Iran.
Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on the UAE and other Gulf countries after the US and Israel bombarded Iran with missiles.
Mr Sawiris said the UAE's strong stance on happiness, security, discipline, recognition and tolerance will attract more people to live in the country and support the property market's growth.
“Which country will compete with all of that? Which country will give you that regardless of your religion, your colour, where you come from?” he said.
The UAE's real estate market has maintained robust momentum since bouncing back from the Covid-driven slowdown and has weathered the fallout from geopolitical challenges.
The sector also remained active during the conflict between US-Israeli forces and Iran, although some segments were negatively affected, analysts have said.
Government reforms, including residency permits for retired and remote workers, and the expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme, have helped in sustaining the boom.
Population growth, as well as the influx of wealthy people, has also pushed up prices and home rents, particularly in the high-end luxury segment.
In the first quarter of this year, the value of Dubai's real estate transactions surged by nearly a third, underpinned by an influx of new investors and rising interest in luxury properties.
Transactions in the three months to the end of March hit Dh252 billion, a 31 per cent annual increase, the Dubai Media Office said this month, referring to data from the Dubai Land Department.
A total of 60,303 property transactions were sealed, a 6 per cent year-on-year rise, and part of 718,160 deals recorded during the quarter, the DLD said.
The figures highlight “sustained international trust in Dubai’s real estate market and its growing appeal as a secure and stable destination for long-term investment”, the media office said.
“The performance underscores the sector’s resilience and its ability to navigate regional developments, driven by the leadership’s forward-looking vision.”
However, in March, Dubai property valuations recorded their first decline since the pandemic, ValuStrat said in a report on Thursday.
Villa values fell 5.8 per cent monthly, with a slower annual gain of 12.1 per cent, while apartment values dropped 6.3 per cent, with annual growth slowing to just 3.9 per cent.
Sawiris on Iran war and Strait of Hormuz
Mr Sawiris said he has been “outraged” since the beginning of the conflict, as Iran began firing “60 per cent of its weaponry on a peaceful country like Emirates”.
“This surprised me – never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would see that."
He said Iran’s attacks on the Emirates can only be understood as “jealousy, hatred, because the Emirates exposes all other countries and their life values”.
The Strait of Hormuz, which remains closed amid Iran war, will reopen soon, Mr Sawiris said.
The Hormuz story cannot be too long. It's a short film, because nobody can afford to keep that ongoing,” he said, adding that the matter would "end peacefully amid talks or Iran’s defeat".
