Dubai’s largest developer is temporarily halting new projects amid a property glut that, combined with the coronavirus pandemic, has come down nearly a third off house prices in the past six years, reports Gulf Business.
“We don’t build anymore,” Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar said at a conference in Dubai on Monday. “The government entities decided to stop new developments almost a year back, but Covid definitely put the brakes on.”
According to the Gulf Business report, the comments marked a rare admission from Emaar, which for years has resisted calls to stop construction even as new properties flooded the market and drove down values.
Home prices in Dubai, the Middle East’s main business and financial hub, have slumped by more than 30 per cent since 2014, forcing the government to set up a committee to manage supply and demand.
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