Omniyat to more than double portfolio to $27bn in five years amid Dubai property boom

Dubai luxury developer Omniyat plans to boost investment and more than double the value of its property portfolio to Dh100 billion ($27.3 billion) in the next five years, as it seeks to capitalise on the sustained demand in the UAE real estate market.

Omniyat aims to build its asset base up from the current Dh40 billion, with its portfolio of ultra-luxury properties accounting for at least half of the Dh100 billion target, its chairman and chief executive Mahdi Amjad told a media briefing on Tuesday.

New companies launched under Omniyat’s revamped corporate structure will invest across the real estate value chain and build residential, commercial and hospitality projects in the UAE and the broader GCC region. They will account for the remaining Dh50 billion, he said.

The company plans to launch two new ultra-luxury projects in Dubai this year with a combined value of Dh10 billion.

“I truly believe that there is intrinsic growth potential that's going to come over the next five to 10 years in the estate value of the ultra-luxury [segment of the market],” Mr Amjad said.

“I'm determined and confident … in ultra-luxury because of the track record of the last two years of Dubai.”

Omniyat is the latest developer in UAE rushing to launch new projects to take advantage of the robust growth in the real estate market since it bounced back strongly from the Covid-driven slowdown in 2020.

While the overall market remains resilient despite global economic headwinds and the Israel-Hamas war driving geopolitical turbulence in the region, the luxury and ultra-luxury segments have recorded a sharp rise over the past two years.

Dubai alone recorded 948 sales in the luxury property segment, each valued at Dh15 million or more, during the first five months of 2024, a report this week by property company Betterhomes found.

These high-value transactions were concentrated in areas such as Palm Jumeirah, Mohammed bin Rashid City, Dubai Water Canal, Tilal Al Ghaf and Dubai Hills Estate.

The ultra-luxury segment has also registered record transactions in recent quarters: a Dh165.6 million sale at Ritz Carlton Residences by MAG in Dubai Healthcare City was the highest-priced primary home sale in the emirate so far this year, according to Betterhomes’ data.

That deal followed a Dh140.5 million sale in Meraas’ Bulgari Lighthouse, Jumeirah Bay, and a Dh140 million transaction in Fendi Casa Canal by AHS Properties in Dubai Water Canal.

Omniyat, which was founded in 2005, in May sold a penthouse at its latest project The Lana Residences, Dorchester Collection, for Dh139 million.

The announcement of the two new ultra-luxury projects follows the launch last year of Orla Infinity, as part of the $2 billion Orla collection at Palm Jumeirah.

UAE developers, including Emaar Properties, Dubai’s biggest-listed real estate company, also have revealed plans to tap the growing luxury and ultra-luxury segments of the market.

In February, Emaar announced two new luxury projects in the emirate, The Heights Country Club and Grand Club Resort, valued at a combined Dh96 billion.

Meanwhile, Sharjah property developer Arada in January launched sales of its luxury project in Dubai, the Armani Beach Residences at Palm Jumeirah, where the five-bedroom units were priced from Dh60 million.

Mr Amjad said despite the sharp rally in the ultra-luxury market over the past two years, there is enormous potential of growth in the emirate.

“The real estate value in Dubai versus the other capital cities, we're still fraction of the recent price in Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Paris, London, where [Dubai is] one-third or one-fifth [in terms of] the price per square foot despite all our growth in the last three, four years, which has been a phenomenal rally,” he said.

“Assets have tripled in value for owners [in Omniyat developments]."

The government policies to attract top global talent and the growing population of millionaires will also continue to support the ultra-luxury segment.

A record 6,700 millionaires are expected to call the UAE home by the end of this year, according to a recent survey by international investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners, which named the country the world's top destination for the wealthy for a third year in a row.

Dubai's prime market hit a record last year as sales of $10 million-plus homes nearly doubled to $7.6 billion, performing better than London and New York, Knight Frank said in a report this year.

Prices of $10 million-plus homes in Dubai also grew at one of the fastest rates globally at 26 per cent last year, on rising overseas demand, according to Knight Frank data.

Dubai undoubtedly is a “magnet for millionaires”, Mr Amjad said.

“Dubai is the number-one city in the world where ultra-luxury is getting sold and the millionaires of the world are moving to and that's a globally validated headline.”