Niraj Masand, Founder and Managing Director of Artha Realty, shares his thoughts about the rapidly advancing dynamics of Middle East’s real estate market
A progressive real estate brokerage firm based in Dubai, Artha Realty helps both first-time buyers and seasoned investors benefit from the great financial flexibility offered by the off-plan real estate of Dubai and the UAE. With an objective to help its clients and partners articulate and transform all their real estate dreams into reality, Artha’s team truly believes that excellence is a journey.
In an interview with REM TIMES, Niraj Masand, Founder and Managing Director of Artha Realty, shares his thoughts about the strategies employed by the company to stay ahead of the curve and the booming dynamics of the real estate market of the UAE.
Q1. What do you believe are the primary drivers behind the current property market boom in the Middle East?
The current boom is largely driven by the confidence investors have in the economy of the Middle East. Options like Golden Visa are giving people a certain sense of security and the Saudi market too is opening up rapidly. Big economic, political and even sporting events like the Expo, COP 28 and football world cup are being held here. All this is leading to a surge in confidence in favour of the Middle East. Furthermore, the tax-free life, accessibility to world-class healthcare and education and top-class infrastructure are creating an environment conducive for attracting capital.
Q2. How do you aim to differentiate yourself within the competitive landscape?
We believe that our biggest strength is adding value. We aim to provide value to our stakeholders, clients and the real estate market in general. Since 2004, we have been bringing in a certain expertise and experience which in turn allows us to have a pragmatic view of the market. We evaluate projects, developers, experience, communities and look at any project with a 15-year horizon before we even think of suggesting it to our investors. We believe that in today’s market where everything is all about selling, one needs to have a far-sighted vision as many projects will not hold their value.
Q3. In what ways does sustainability factor into your approach and client services?
This is really an area where a developer can add value as there is little that we can do as brokers. However, from our end, we evaluate projects and highlight ones with sustainability as an important aspect. Even though this has not been the focus of developers in the last few years, we see developers becoming increasingly conscious about this.
Q4. What aspirations and strategic objectives has your company set for the year 2024?
One of our objectives is to take on turnkey projects where we are involved from the inception right through to the sales. This way, we are able to add value from layouts to pricing and development to sales. We are also eyeing the secondary market very closely and intend to expand in that direction over the course of next 12 to 18 months. Apart from that, on the company level, we are looking to have rigorous training for our agents as we believe that it is quality training that will set the team apart in this highly competitive market.
Q5. According to you, what emerging industry dynamics or shifts will influence the real estate market this year?
This year, we envision a lot of handovers which is going to put some pressure on the rentals. I don’t see it as a matter of concern but tenants will be spoilt for choice. I also see more projects being launched as there is a pent up demand still coming in from different parts of the world.
Dubai will witness the announcement of some extremely ambitious projects. Focus will also shift to newer communities like the Expo Site and Emirates Road. Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah will also generate a lot more demand and interest due to investors not wanting to focus only on Dubai.
