Dubai could yield 'up to 12% annual returns'

Dubai could offer property investors up to 12 per cent returns.

According to real estate marketing firm Tasweek, the UAE as a whole is predicted to provide between nine per cent and 12 per cent per year, but it believes Dubai plays a stronger, more centralised role in this.

The company's chief executive officer Masood Al Awar referred to the emirate as a 'preferred global real estate hub'.

By the end 2013, the real estate sector will have contributed AED 111.4 billion (£18.5 billion) towards gross domestic product in the UAE. Next year, this is expected to go up to AED 118 billion.

While this applies to the broader UAE, Dubai is one of the most well known locations and, thanks to its own tourism and business communities, can be seen as the leading emirate of the country.

Mr Al Awar added there is 'strong market intelligence to suggest a major spurt in the growth with increased investor activity across a wide spectrum of real estate projects' in the city.

Tasweek also believes Dubai's hosting of Expo 2020 will prove favourable for the sheikhdom's property market.

This will improve various aspects of the city's real estate but, most notably, it will boost the already strong hospitality sector. The event is expected to draw in 25 million people over the six months it is held and, with around 70 per cent of these expected to come from other countries, there will be an influx of 17.5 million visitors.

As a result, the hospitality sector will be in big demand, while knock-on effects will also occur in retail and other industries. Consequently, property in a multitude of residential and commercial areas will go up in anticipation of this extra business and revenue.

Because of this, Tasweek believes there will be 'a significant impact on the growing demand for real estate units of various kinds in Dubai over the next three years'.