Abu Dhabi 'is 18 to 24 months behind Dubai'

Leaders at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) have reiterated the differing fortunes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi's real estate sectors.While the latter has struggled to recover from the global economic downturn in 2008-09, the former has really come on leaps and bounds in the past year or so.A number of organisations have suggested that Dubai is by far and away the best place to invest in the UAE and JLL's latest report supports this sentiment.Chief executive officer of the company's Middle East and North Africa operations Alan Robertson highlighted a number of key trends for 2013 and he fully expects the demand for property investments in Dubai to grow even further."With an increase of 65 per cent in the number of transactions in 2012, the Dubai real estate sector will continue to shift up a gear in 2013, experiencing a broader based recovery on the back of continued economic growth," he remarked."Abu Dhabi remains 18 to 24 months behind Dubai and the market is not expected to experience an upturn in 2013."That said, Mr Robertson also stated that the foundations are being laid for a recovery in Abu Dhabi in 2014.He added that the real estate markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi would both benefit from increased economic activity between the UAE and countries in eastern Asia.It seems that trade links with China and South Korea in particular have improved recently and this is great news for property investors in the Middle East.JLL's new report will not surprise many people, as there have been clear signs of a substantial improvement in Dubai's real estate industry for quite some time now.Figures provided by Citi recently showed "tremendous growth" in building activity in 2012.According to Emirates 24/7, new properties were valued at $110 billion (AED 404 billion) in November alone and plenty of mega projects are set to take shape in Dubai in the next few years.Looking for real estate in Dubai? The First Group can point you in the right direction