Dubai is the second largest Emirate in the United Arab Emirates and probably the
most well known. It has forged a reputation as one of the most important and vibrant cities in the Middle East. Dubai is emerging as a regional and global centre for Tourism, Finance and Industry.

The government's decision to diversify from a trade-based but oil-reliant economy to one that is service and tourism oriented has made real estate more valuable, resulting in a property boom. Blue chip industry has been attracted to Dubai, due to the numerous tax free zones for different industry sectors. Oracle, IBM, CNN, Microsoft and Siemens all boast regional hubs in Dubai.

Construction on a large scale has made Dubai to be known as one of the fastest growing cities in the world, only equaled by the large Chinese cities.

With bustling city centers to unspoiled beaches, Dubai has it all.

Future Plans for Dubai

Dubai already has a number of iconic structures. These include man made Islands, including the 'Palm' and the 'World'. The world's tallest tower, the world’s tallest free standing hotel, and an indoor ski slope with real snow.

However, Dubai has huge plans. Currently in development is the 'Dubai Metro' which is a new unmanned monorail system to connect all the areas in the city together, 'Dubai World Central' www.dubaiworldcentral.net which is a 'city within a city' based around a new airport in Jebel Ali. There is 'Dubai Waterfront' www.dubaiwaterfront.ae which will be 2½ times the size of Washington D.C., roughly seven times the size of the island of Manhattan. It will add 500 miles of man-made waterfront and contain Al Burj, another one of the tallest buildings in the world.
Finally there is Dubailand www.dubailand.ae. It will be built on a 3 billion square foot (278 km²/107 mile²) site and will include 45 mega projects. It will be twice the size of Walt Disney World Resort, currently the largest collection of amusement parks
in the world.

Property Prices in Dubai

Dubai becomes a more attractive place to live or to have a holiday home every day, and consequently demand for property in Dubai continues to soar. Prices for most properties have tripled over the last 2 years.

Dubai continues to be a sound investment due to new legislation allowing non UAE citizens freehold property status and register their properties in the UAE land register. This change in legislation has energised the mortgage market, bringing in turn thousands of new buyers to the marke t who could not afford to buy previously.

Rental yields are normally at least 10pc per annum, due to the shortage of properties that still exists in Dubai.