A new report from JLL terms Dubai as being one of a new class of ‘hybrid’ cities because of its transparent real estate market, Arabian Business reports.
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Dubai is among the world’s top destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the real estate market, according to new research from consultants JLL.
In a new report entitled “World Cities: Mapping the Pathways to Success”, JLL identified Dubai as one of a new group of ‘hybrid’ cities that have attributes of either ‘emerging world cities’ or new world cities’.
According to the report, Dubai has been making progress in improving real estate transparency, and as a result has seen high levels of foreign investor activity in the last cycle.
The report identified Dubai – which was named the most transparent real estate market in the Middle East in JLL’s 2016 global real estate transparency index – was termed ‘hybrid’ due to a number of initiatives designed to improve transparency and after witnessing a transformation in the quality of its commercial real estate market.
‘Hybrid’ cities, as defined in the report, are medium-sized and compete in specialised markets, which benefit from access to large domestic markets. They are durable in the medium-term and are among the top real estate investment destinations, as seen in the case of Dubai.
Additionally, ‘hybrid’ cities have a “superior live-ability” equation compared to their national and regional peers, JLL noted.
“Dubai and Abu Dhabi top the list of being termed hybrid cities,” said Craig Plumb, JLL MENA’s head of research. “They share characteristics, aspirations and priorities in terms of the specialisms that they nurture, the talent and businesses that they attract, and the style of quantity of real estate required.
“With this in mind, it makes sense to assess cities in the Middle East as it allows room to evaluate the competitiveness of the market,” he added.