Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced the launch of the Real Estate Investment Opportunities (REIOs) initiative during a press conference held yesterday. The new initiative is a new way to attract investors from all economic sectors.

Before the launch of the project, a feasibility study was conducted, and the most prominent international experiences and local and global practices were reviewed, and a special committee was formed to follow up and develop the project. Under this initiative, several important investment products will be launched, most notably the collective real estate investment funds, partial title deeds procedures to register units owned by a number of partners, the lease-to-own system, and investment portfolio applications.

New-market catalyst

This project was adopted as a catalyst for Dubai’s real estate sector based on the outcomes of the Innovation Lab 2018. A law is currently being drafted for real estate investment portfolios that is still under accreditation and review by the concerned parties.

HE Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of DLD, said: “We have fruitful and constructive cooperation relationships with many parties in the market, who are our true partners in shaping the future of the real estate sector. We are proud to launch a new investment package that enhances the attractiveness of Dubai’s real estate environment, reaching a wider horizon of global leadership through which we will formulate new visions, especially with Expo 2020 around the corner. Unveiling REIOs reflects the positive impact of innovative ideas in the real estate sector, and the efforts made by various parties in line with the National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031 that can be implemented on-ground by integrating government work and building strategic partnerships with the private sector and the wider economic community in Dubai and the world.”

Bin Mejren concluded: “We are proud to see the results of our efforts in positioning the UAE at the forefront of wellbeing, making its people the happiest in the world. We aspire to your participation in formulating a success story based on the contributions and support of our partners to strengthen the strong foundations of the real estate investment approach that makes Dubai an ideal destination for investors from around the world.”

Facilitating procedures

A special office has been approved at DLD’s Cube centre to facilitate and unify all registration and follow-up procedures for this project. DLD will also approve a set of special privileges relating to real estate registration and its terms, and a special electronic contact website will be established to provide electronic services and respond to all future queries.

This initiative is expected to help increase the share of investors in Dubai’s real estate market’s investments in global real estate portfolios, strengthening the Emirate’s investment position and competitiveness, and attracting new investments in the real estate sector. The initiative will help find new ways to attract real estate investment to new categories in society, create innovative investment ideas, and provide a competitive environment that allows developers to create competitive marketing initiatives and programmes.

HE Marwan bin Ghalita, CEO of Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), commented: “Today, Dubai’s real estate market is considered attractive for investments, and this initiative is complemented by DLD’s efforts over previous years in keeping pace with our aspirations to strengthen the market in line with DLD’s vision and mission based on three key factors: trust, innovation, and happiness. This initiative will help us emerge from the traditional patterns of property buying, selling, and registration. These processes require us to embrace technology and change, both of which paved the path to launching real estate products with the participation of developers to attract new investors. Previously, the real estate market targeted a certain class of investors: the wealthy. Today, however, through these four products, we seek to cover a larger segment of investors, both inside and outside the UAE, and allow them to own properties in Dubai and benefit from high returns on investments.”

Majida Ali Rashid, CEO of the Promotion and Real Estate Investment Management sector at DLD, affirmed that this initiative comes in line with the pillars of the Year of Tolerance and expressed her pride to working with innovative real estate minds that make achievement and success a reality while making the impossible possible.

Rashid added: “We are pleased to launch the REIOs package, which is a result of the efforts and ambitions of DLD and its strategic partners. Together, we will be able to launch new investment products that will promote collective investment and offer unique solutions and privileges that make investment opportunities in Dubai available and accessible to all segments of the local and international community.”

Rashid concluded: “Q1 2019 witnessed an 8% increase in real estate transaction growth when compared to Q1 2018. During H1 2019, the real estate market received investments worth AED 119 billion, while the growth of active investors reached 2,800. Dubai’s real estate market also witnessed the entry of a large number of new investors.”

The new initiative is the first of a series of innovative initiatives that will contribute to the construction of a database and an investment platform that mimics the aspirations and directives of Dubai, in line with the UAE’s success of ranking second globally in trust in the future of the economy.

Majid Saqr Al Marri, CEO of the Registration and Real Estate Services sector at DLD, said: “The partial title deeds project is a new initiative launched by DLD comprising a system that is utilised in the world’s largest investment destinations. Today, Dubai is a pioneer in new investment opportunities to attract a wider range of investors. A unified system means equal ownership of properties between 2 – 4 investors, and will initially be available for hotel facilities. As for registration legislation, we will employ the existing ones.”

Four MoUs and honouring

Four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed on the sidelines of the event, three of which involved DLD. The first MoU was signed between DLD and Ethis Dubai to cooperate in providing consultancy services and real estate promotion, specifically marketing and promoting real estate research and providing consultancies for real estate information services in the portfolio real estate cloud. The second MoU was signed between DLD and Investbridge Capital Limited to provide advisory services to real estate investment channels in Dubai, and the third MoU was signed between DLD and Bester Capital Investments L.L.C to cooperate in the fields of digital applications, and real estate investment and promotion. The fourth MoU was signed between MAG Development and Ethis Dubai, representing the first agreement between a real estate developer and a group investment company under the REIOs initiative.

DLD honoured a number of people, institutions, and companies, including: Arif Amiri from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), MAG Development, Investbridge Capital Limited, ENBD REIT, Emirates REIT, Ethis Dubai, Mashreq Bank, Bester Capital Investments L.L.C, Saleh Tabakh from Delta Real Estate, Yousef Quaren from Lumi ME, and Benchmark Digital Solutions.