Introducing our new Global Sales Director: Amer Chaudhary?

Amer Chaudhary recently joined E.R.E Property Group as our Global Sales Director. We caught up with him to ask about his new role and his views on the markets.?

Tell us about your new role and experience in the UAE property market?

I joined E.R.E Property last month and have been overseeing global sales for our Leeds, Hong Kong, and Dubai offices. I’m responsible for sourcing new investment opportunities and expanding our international client base.?

I’ve been working in Dubai on and off since 2002. Before I joined E.R.E Property, I headed international sales at AQUA Properties/ Developments’ Dubai and UK offices, managing a team of 40 sales consultants. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with developers across the Globe from UK, GCC [Gulf Corporation Council] region, Asia and Australia, selling properties to investors from all over the world.?

What are your ambitions for E.R.E Property?

Our ambition is to grow the team and become a much bigger player in the GCC market with a bigger product offering and fully international platform. Currently, 90% of our investment opportunities are UK property, so we want to use the new Dubai headquarters [which opened earlier this year] to bring in more regional and international investment opportunities. The UK market remains important and has always attracted investors from the UAE.?

Why does UK property appeal to UAE investors?

The UK has always been a stable market with a good and clean legal system, and it has a strong track record with the UK property cycle. Whenever there’s been a downcycle, the market has always recovered and bounced back beyond its previous peak. Investors love the UK; they know it’s a safe market to invest in. They may look elsewhere for quick wins, but, by default, they always go back to UK property. In the last 18 months, GCC investors have been waiting to see what happens with interest rates, but, throughout, they’ve continued to look for good opportunities in the UK. $3.4bn is expected to be spent [by GCC investors] in the UK in this year alone, which highlights the level of demand and confidence.?

How does the Dubai market compare to the UK?

The Dubai property market is still quite fresh, and confidence hasn’t fully recovered since the turmoil of the 2008 financial crisis when investors lost a lot of money in off-plan purchases. That being said, new regulations have been introduced since to safeguard investors and that has helped to restore trust in the market. For example, developers now must use escrow accounts for holding buyer deposits and payments. There’s also an app that investors can use to see if a development has been approved by the governing bodies e.g. DLD. It’s become a more transparent market.?

With the UK there’s longevity, it’s more of a long-term play. Dubai offers higher growth potential — yields for buy-to-let are in the region of 8-10%, compared to 4-7% in the UK, but there’s more volatility. Unlike the UK, you don’t need a lawyer to purchase a property as it’s purchased through the local land department e.g. DLD, so, in that respect, transactions are a lot easier and faster.?

Is Dubai affected by interest rates in the same way as the UK?

With Dubai, a lot of developers are offering interest free payment plans, so you don’t really need a mortgage. These payment plans are available pre- and post-completion. Dubai is a cash rich country — developers use investor money to build rather than bank finance. However, the market is still susceptible to inflation and rising materials costs, and that has had an impact on construction in the last couple of years.??

What is the outlook for the Dubai market?

Since the Ukraine war, a lot of investors from Russia were buying in UAE as there are not the same restrictions for Russian money which has been invested into the UAE. It’s much easier to move money in Dubai than in many Western markets, and that has resulted in price growth.?

Also, in January, they refreshed the rules and made it easier to qualify for the 10-year residency Golden visa through purchasing real estate in UAE. This visa allows foreigners to live, work or study in Dubai as residents. It used to be that you had to purchase a property to qualify for the 10 year Golden visa by investing two million UAE dirhams [around ￡430K] to become a resident, but now you can buy real estate of the same value but can qualify by starting to make the payments, so don’t need to have invested the full amount. This has made it more accessible to the average person and has increased foreign demand for residential property. Dubai is now in competition with Saudi and its aggressive growth plans, and that means they are offering foreign buyers more incentives to keep their top spot in the region, which will continue to attract capital into the country.

There are a lot of people relocating to the region and Sheikh Mohammed [ruler of Dubai] wants the population to double over the next 10 years. It’s not an easy task, they have to create jobs, accommodation, infrastructure and the demand is there to help them succeed and to support the market. They already have a lot of the infrastructure in place and Dubai World Central Airport is going to be the largest and the busiest in the world, 4 times the size of DXB airport, so I can see it happening.?

Should investors buy in the UK or Dubai?

It depends on your investment strategy. Dubai is a fresh market which is growing significantly. It gives you the capital growth potential plus income, but the UK market is more mature and offers more stability. For me, I’d say both — you don’t keep your eggs in one basket, it’s a good idea to diversify.

Amer Chaudhary is Global Sales Director at E.R.E Property. To contact E.R.E Property or view investment opportunities, visit https://ereproperty.com.