A youthful demographic and projected strong GDP growth will help the property sector in GCC nations rebuild following a period of inactivity and decline. This is the primary findings of a new report by Al Masah Capital, a Dubai-based alternative investment house.
GDP growth this year expected to sit at around the 5.9 per cent mark across the GCC - as compared to 4.5 per cent in 2010 and 0.7 per cent in 2009 - helping to give regional real estate markets a more positive outlook.
However, the report notes that the trend is not equal across the GCC because of different socio-political situations. But the research adds that the expectation is now fixed in concrete rather than vain hope.
"Perhaps the most vital growth driver is the region's expanding population, most of which is young and has the ability to create exponential investment in the property sector. It is this young, upwardly mobile demographic that has the potential to dissolve the current fear over high vacancy rates and concerns about oversupply," said Shailesh Dash, founder and chief executive of Al Masah Capital.