By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE’s real estate sector is expected to witness a robust recovery on the back of issuing a raft of resolutions and official initiatives, chief among them was cutting electricity consumption tariff paid by expatriates, especially those who own villas and residential apartments, analysts told Mubasher.

The Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA) has decided to reduce electricity consumption tariffs for foreign residents, which recorded 45 fils per kilowatt in the past.

Real estate experts said that reducing electricity tariffs for non-Emirati residents is a positive decision and spurs investments in the real estate sector.

High electricity consumption bills placed a burden on investors and tenants, real estate department manager at Al Waleed Real Estate Mohamed Turk told Mubasher.

Ismail Al Hammadi, CEO of Al Ruwad Real Estate, said that such initiative will support the real estate sector in the GCC nation, in addition to raising demand for real estate purchases and freehold.

He also expected an increase in the total number of real estate transactions over 2019.

The initiative comes along with the UAE’s decision of implanting the 100% foreign ownership and 10-year residency visas for expats in a bid to attract further investments to the GCC country, Al Hammadi pointed out.

Moreover, the UAE government has launched several initiatives to support the real estate sector, including the reduction of fees for tenancy contract renewal by 50% in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE’s capital and biggest sheikhdom also announced the social support programme “Ghadan 21 plan”, which aims to boost competitiveness of businesses in the emirate.

Following the recent decision by FEWA to cut electricity tariffs in the UAE, several expatriate nationalities are likely to benefit from the decision, particularly the largest expatriate group in the UAE.

The UAE’s population comprises 948,000 citizens and 8.5 million expats, according to official statistics.

There are around 2.7 million Indian expats, accounting for 30% of the country’s total population. They also rank first among the list of property owners in Dubai.

Translated by: Kholoud Mohamed Hussein