At a time when the Iran war has cast a doubt in the minds of real estate investors, Amit Goenka, founder of Nisus Finance, said that Abu Dhabi, instead of Dubai, is where people should put in their money.
While Dubai has global money, Abu Dhabi is where the economy is accelerating. Goenka said, speaking at HT’s India Next Real Estate Summit. Institutional players in Abu Dhabi are among the main reasons it is a preferred investment location, he said.
Which inventory should one invest in? Office spaces, apartments, and villas are the best investments in Abu Dhabi, in terms of yield, Goenka said.
“There is a 5 per cent availability of office spaces in comparison to a 15 per cent demand. So, it is a great place to invest right now,” he said.
The session on global investments and capital flow, with Goenka and Santosh Kumar, vice chairman of the Anarock Group Business Services, focused on real estate opportunities in Dubai, cross-border capital flows, and the UAE corridor.
Dubai has emerged as one of the most preferred overseas real estate destinations for Indian investors, due to its high rental yields, tax efficiency, world-class infrastructure, ease of ownership and residency-linked investment programmes.
Indian buyers have consistently ranked among the largest investor groups in Dubai’s property market. However, the recent geopolitical developments in the region, including the US-Iran war, have introduced a degree of caution into the market, making investors increasingly selective.
Amid the caution, while Goenka and Kumar lauded the investment opportunities in Dubai, the Nisus Finance founder ranked Abu Dhabi higher on the market chart.
With the ongoing crisis in West Asia, Goenka noted, “Without a doubt, geopolitical risk is a concern.” He said, however, that it is a global event and not an isolated one. The US-Iran war has impacted trade, oil prices, and gas supply worldwide, including in India.
Goenka said that even in wartime, rental demand in the UAE has not decreased. “In terms of futuristic ideas, it comes with a little bit of a pause. But, people still have faith in the UAE,” the Nisus Finance founder added.
Is it the right time to invest in Dubai?
Santosh Kumar, vice chairman of the Anarock Group, said, “Post the West Asia crisis and the recent speculated agreement between Iran and the US, there is a hope that things will settle down.”
He further said that people hope this war will end as soon as possible, as it would benefit everyone in the region.
Having said that, Kumar added, Dubai or the Middle East has remained connected to the world. He stated that Dubai is among the places in the world that offer safe returns, adding that anyone who wants to invest in the UAE should not hold back.
Dubai becoming a mature market
Regarding investors in India and Dubai, Goenka noted that Dubai lacked an investment cycle that would allow investors to make an exit.
In Dubai, people were making money very fast. “Because of the impetus of the war, it is becoming a mature market where only a sophisticated investor would go. The way people in India research and reflect before investing, the same policy will now also be active in Dubai,” Goenka said.
According to the Nisus Finance founder, it is a “great time” to look at the market in Dubai. He reiterated, “Any black swan event throws up opportunities.”
Goenka said that at the peak of the US-Iran conflict, between March and April, prices went up by 7 per cent overall “because most of the investors are unlevered, cash buyers.”
According to Goenka, people investing in the UAE are not desperate buyers; they are people who have invested their money and have no pain in waiting for their yields.
Meanwhile, Santosh Kumar noted that in the last three months, from March to June, 26 per cent of transactions in Dubai were brought by Indians. Opportunities are emerging, and price corrections are also happening, so Indians are looking at them in Dubai and investing.
Benefits of investing in Dubai
While Goenka preferred Abu Dhabi for investments, the benefits of the Dubai inventory were also mentioned.
“Dubai is the easier location to go and invest from a regulation and compliance perspective. It is also the most affordable, and it is dollar pegged,” Goenka said, adding that an investor would stand to get a currency gain of 5 per cent every year.
Both Goenka and Kumar vouched for having a dollar appreciation in investments in the UAE.
Why is Dubai a preferred real estate market?
Santosh Kumar said that Dubai’s connectivity to the global market is a key advantage that makes it highly attractive.
For Indian investors, Dubai is an attractive destination because of its convenience and tax structure—the UAE is a tax-free country.
The US-Iran war, meanwhile, has yet to reach a complete cessation. Days after US President Donald Trump and the Iranian side signed a 14-point interim peace deal, leaving a 60-day negotiation window, strikes have been ongoing from both sides. Over the weekend, Bahrain and Kuwait in the Middle East also came under the risk of attack as Iran and the US continued to exchange strikes. It remains to be seen whether the interim peace deal and the negotiations result in an actual cessation of the strikes and bring the Middle East region to calm.
