Real estate developers in the Middle East and North Africa are missing out on property management opportunities beyond their core business worth $30 billion, a consultancy report published on Sunday said.

Consultancy A T Kearney said in a statement it saw opportunities for developers to diversify from a business model mostly based on property sales into offering property management services as well.

Developers in particular in the Gulf region were badly hit during the global financial crisis after the burst of the property bubble in the region's commercial hub Dubai late in 2008.

No big project launches are expected to be announced during this week's Cityscape exhibition in Dubai, once the stage where multibillion-dollar developments were announced.

"Essentially, as projects are completed within the GCC, there is an opportunity for developers to shift their focus from 'develop to sell' to a 'develop, manage and collect' business model and tap into ancillary revenue sources," Dirk Buchta, a partner and managing director at A T Kearney was cited.

The consultancy said it saw revenue opportunities of $5-10 billion in these services in the UAE and $8-12 billion in Saudi Arabia.   

It said ancillary revenue sources included property management, mortgage finance or rental of common area property spaces. - Reuters