The 12th edition of Cityscape Global, the Middle East’s largest real estate event, was inaugurated in Dubai today.

The event, which was opened by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, will run till October 10 at the Dubai World Trade Centre and is co-located with three conferences and an awards ceremony.

Wouter Molman, exhibition director, said: “Cityscape Global has grown substantially for the second year in a row, having sold out exhibition space six weeks ahead of the opening day.  This mirrors the Dubai property market sentiment which has started to gain momentum since early 2012.”

“The 2013 edition has attracted 223 regional and international exhibitors, covering six exhibition halls and 25,000 square metres of space,” he said.

According to figures from the eighth Jones Lang LaSalle Real Estate Investor Sentiment Survey for the Mena region, the Dubai real estate sector has more potential investors than sellers, with significant amounts of money continuing to flow into the domestic market.

Major UAE developers showcasing their latest developments include Emaar Properties, Nakheel, Dubai Properties Group, Barwa, Anantara Residences, Damac, Deyaar Development, Diamond Developers, Flash Properties, Meydan Group, Omniyat, Tanmiyat and Tharaa Holding.

Cityscape Global also continues to attract international exhibitors, underlined by eight country pavilions this year.

The Turkish pavilion will once again be the largest in 2013, featuring more than 30 real estate companies and covering more than 1,500 sq m of exhibition space.

“Cityscape Global has grown over 50 per cent in sold exhibition space with international exhibitors representing roughly half of the total number. However, with Dubai developers on average taking larger stand sizes, they still represent approximately 65 per cent of the total exhibition space,” said Molman.

“Total participant numbers last year were just over 25,000 and we expect this number to see a healthy double digit increase this year based on the improved market sentiment and our current pre-registration figures,” he added.

The dedicated industry conferences running alongside the event include the Global Real Estate Summit, Future Cities and the Mena Mortgage and Affordable Housing Congress.  It also features the Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets on October 9 at the JW Marriot Marquis Hotel Dubai. - TradeArabia News Service