With real estate prices on the decline for the last three years mainly due to oversupply from the off-plan market, and not enough demand to meet handovers, the UAE government is taking several steps to boost the market, said an expert.

Those monitoring the headlines recently will have noticed a volley round of new initiatives that are set to boost the real estate sector in the UAE, stated Propertyfinder Group, a leading real estate portal in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

First came the visa and company ownership reforms set for the end of this year followed by the Dubai Land Department’s efforts to bring real estate transactions online and cut out red tape by the first quarter of 2020.

Then, this week, Dubai and Abu Dhabi went back and forth on their own economic stimulus plans, said the expert.

The Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion) stimulus package for Abu Dhabi, announced earlier this week by Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, will attract longer-term residents and cut costs for developers, according to Propertyfinder in its report.

A total of 33,000 units were delivered over 2016 and 2017 in Dubai, with 2018 forecast to deliver much the same, it added.

"Stimulus efforts to attract investment and retain residents are much-needed," remarked Lynnette Abad, the director of data and research at Propertyfinder Group.

"We have seen the market shift in different ways over the last few years, a significant amount of supply was released into the market and majority of sales in 2017 were on off-plan units [70 per cent]," stated Abad.

"The amount of new supply in the market has put pressure on sale and rental prices with both declining over the last three years. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the cost of living in Dubai has been relatively high, therefore a decline in prices have helped many households," she stated.

In a major move, the government has asked Dubai Land Department to get rid of the late-fee penalty on the four per cent registration fees on property transactions in the emirate, part of a growing effort to slash fees overall in the emirate.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, emphasised that real estate sector was an important component of Dubai's economy and the goverment was providing the best government services to investors and developers.

Abad pointed put that the new proposals would continue to relieve the pressure put on by simple cost of living.

"Of particular interest for the real estate sector and residents is the creation of permanent home licences for working from home, instant licensing for most commercial license types and all government services, new faster payments for private sector contractors and a review of fines incurred by delays they cause, and a cost-cutting review of building regulations for residential and commercial properties. Further detail on these initiatives is expected within 90 days," she stated.

For Dubai, the school fees freeze for the upcoming academic year may ease the burden in households already feeling the pinch of VAT, and encourage people to stay in the country longer, she added.-TradeArabia News Service