Cityscape Global to be held in November

The organiser of the Cityscape real estate events has said this year's Cityscape Global exhibition will be held in November at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The three-day event will be held from November 15 to 17, organiser Informa Markets said on Sunday.

The global real estate event “is committed to supporting the GCC in re-establishing a ‘back to business’ approach, delivering a focused event that creates a hub for the real estate sector to network, discuss some of the most poignant topics, delve into market recovery and discover new real estate opportunities”, Informa Markets said.

Apart from residential projects, the event will also showcase projects within the rapidly growing sectors of industrial and logistics, commercial, retail and office, as well as proptech and architecture.

Cityscape 2020 will also see the launch of a real estate summit for top tier investors, government, consultants and developers, according to the statement from the organiser.

Last year, the event was held from September 25 to 27 and saw top developers such as Aldar Properties, Nakheel, Sobha Group, Rak Properties and Arada participate in the exhibition.

The announcement regarding the show dates comes as another major event Arabian Travel Market was moved to next year due to the coronavirus outbreak. ATM will now be held in 2021 after Eid celebrations in May.

The overall economy and the real estate market are expected to face strong headwinds in the near term due to the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices, consultancy Core recently said in a report.

“While the real impact is impossible to quantify and the recovery timeline unknowable, we are seeing demand drop drastically as most organisations adjust to social and travel restrictions,” Core said.

Apartment prices in Dubai declined 12 per cent over the 12-month period to the end of March while villa and townhouse prices were lower by 4 per cent, according to a recent report from Cavendish Maxwell.

However, the stimulus measures introduced by authorities, including fee waivers and improved loan-to-value ratios for first-time homebuyers are expected to help the real estate sector recover from the current situation, according to Aditi Gouri, associate partner, strategic consulting and research at Cavendish Maxwell.