Realty Assistant Global CEO Manasvi Mehrotra identifies Dubai and India as prime real estate investment hotspots

“While markets are staggered globally, overall, it is a pretty picture. Off all global markets, Dubai is the current hotbed for residential investments. The demand is outstripping supply, and apartment prices were up 35% in 2022 compared with 2020, despite the peak of the pandemic, while villa prices have gone up by more than 50% during the same period,” he says.

“A lot of it has to do with the effective handling of the pandemic by the country has significantly increased its attractiveness to global investors. Dubai’s early easing of restrictions and reopening of tourism in 2020, while much of Europe remained under lockdown, has been a key factor in this.”

A glimpse of that lies in Dubai shattering its previous record of 80,000 residential sales transactions in 2009, as it achieved an astounding 86,000 transactions last year. A lot of it attributes to the UAE implementing multiple long-term visa choices that no longer require sponsorship, resulting in a significant influx of investors, remote workers, and entrepreneurs to the country and subsequently leading to the creation of more job opportunities.

Mr. Mehrotra draws a close parallel with India, another active operational market for Realty Assistant Global, an integrated realty advisory & solutions provider that caters to the GCC nations, the USA, Canada, and South Asia.

“The residential real estate sector in India is on a high, achieving a YoY sales growth of 68%, which confirms its position as one of the fastest developing industries in India. This new sales record highlights the industry’s significant progress,” he says.

When quizzed about what is fuelling this trend, he credits it to a combination of supporting factors to an underlying perspective shift towards home ownership.

“There is a palpable change in people’s preferences, with a greater focus on owning a home as opposed to renting. This shift is being fuelled by several factors, including the desire for a better standard of living, the increasing potential for higher earnings, and a growing number of consumers who have new aspirations and lifestyle changes.”

Mr. Mehrotra puts his weight equally behind commercial real estate, hitting a home run. “India’s robust growth prospects will result in increased demand for office and commercial spaces in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. This trend is already evident in the swift commercial development of cities such as Pune and Hyderabad. The co-working sector, which has effectively adjusted to evolving work demands, is emerging as a prominent player in meeting the requirements of India’s expanding youth population,” he adds.

Finally, what is that one piece of advice he has for young investors?

“Time your investments to really master real estate economics; everything else just falls in place.”