UAE investors starting to favour property, study shows

UAE-based investors are increasingly confident about pouring money into local assets and they seem to be focusing more and more on the property sector.The latest Friends Provident International (FPI) Investor Attitudes report showed that people in this part of the world are now more comfortable about making investments domestically than their counterparts in Hong Kong and Singapore.This is a telling discovery, as both of these Asian destinations are viewed as major global investment hubs, and it only emphasises just how well the UAE is performing.According to the FPI report, the index for the UAE has risen dramatically since last year, with the country now boasting a score of 28 – up by 11 points on the fourth quarter of 2012. The indices for Hong Kong and Singapore currently stand at 27 and 25 respectively.The study focuses on wealthier investors in each market and it found that UAE-based traders are shifting away from commodities such as gold in favour of real estate.Matthew Waterfield, FPI's general manager for the Middle East and Africa, said the results back up recent suggestions that consumer confidence in the UAE is on the up.”It is interesting – although not entirely surprising – to see the much improved preference for investing in property, which has been building over the last few editions of the report,” he remarked.”Sentiment towards property investment is a fairly reliable barometer of the level of confidence in the local investment market.”Increased interest in UAE-based property has resulted in a plethora of new projects that were previously shelved during the economic downturn being resurrected in places like Dubai.A recent study by Jones Lang LaSalle emphasised how well the property sector has been performing of late, as the demand for residential and commercial buildings has risen sharply in the past year.For the first time since 2008, all areas of the city's real estate industry are well placed to mount an impressive recovery throughout 2013, so now is the ideal time for investors to swoop in and secure more lucrative assets.Looking for apartments in Dubai? The First Group can help you out