Sharjah, Saudi Arabia seek more cooperation in real estate projects

The Real Estate Registration Department in Sharjah has welcomed a delegation from the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, with the participation of Saudi business owners from the real estate sector in the Kingdom.

The delegation was headed by Muhammad Bin Abdullah Al Murshed, Chairman of the National Real Estate Committee of the Federation, with the aim of identifying investment opportunities in real estate projects, exchanging experiences between the two parties, and viewing the numbers of real estate Saudi owned properties. In addition, the visit aim is to look into the best successful practices and experiences of the Department, especially regarding how they are dealing with judicial rulings related to real estate affairs.

The delegation was received by Abdulaziz Ahmed Al-Shamsi, Director General of the Department, Abdulaziz Rashed Al-Saleh, Director of the Department, along with several heads and directors of the Department.

At first, an introductory video about Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department was presented, with an overview about the Office of Strategic Planning and Institutional Excellence, and a detailed explanation of their work mechanisms in the Department of Real Estate Dispositions, the Department of Real Estate Projects Regulation, and the Department of Legal Affairs. Furthermore, the department reviewed the results and statistics of some real estate reports in the emirate.

The meeting’s agenda was mainly about enhancing the means of cooperation and integration between the two parties through several axes, the most important of which are: identifying the competitive real estate advantages of the region, how to market its real estate investment opportunities, and the real estate challenges it faces, especially in light of COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions, and the global comprehensive digital acceleration and its effects on the region’s economy in general, and the real estate sector in particular, while proposing appropriate solutions to it. Furthermore, the most prominent issues that impose themselves on the real estate environment were also discussed considering the regulations and procedures related to the sector’s performance, and how to motivate the real estate sector to achieve the goals set for it.

Abdulaziz Al-Shamsi, Director General of Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department, said, “ Thanks to the great support that this sector is witnessing from our wise leadership, and its continuous interest in supporting and developing it as a major part of the emirate’s economy, in recent years Sharjah has witnessed a comprehensive urban renaissance, and a remarkable increase in the number of Saudi investors wishing to invest in this vital sector, given the emirate’s multiple investment incentives, services, legislative, and legal environment that attracts investors.”

Moreover, Al-Shamsi praised this visit and stated that mutual visits are important to seek the best practices in the region, and that the department is fully prepared to cooperate with everyone in everything related to the real estate sector to develop the services, by using benchmarking framework with anyone providing direct services to the public. In addition, the department has constant keenness to regulate the real estate market and to protect it from randomness and chaos, by setting legal and professional standards and foundations, to reach a strong real estate market with confidence and credibility.

Muhammad Bin Abdullah Al-Murshed, Chairman of the National Real Estate Committee of the Council of Saudi Chambers, said: “We feel happy to be among our people in the United Arab Emirates, and we are proud of the distinguished relations that bind us with our brothers in Sharjah and our long experience working with them for the good and interest of the real estate sector in Sharjah. We are pleased to put all our expertise at the disposal of our brothers in the UAE, and we are fully prepared to provide all forms of support and cooperation with them in all issues related to the vital real estate sector.”

The Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department recorded 40,346 real estate transactions worth Dhs12.2 billion, marking a 40.5 per cent increase till June 2021 against the same period last year, according to the department’s statistical report for the first half of 2021.

Moreover, the total area covered in sales transactions was 75.2 million square feet.

This showed a 96.1 per cent increase in transactions as against the same period in 2020, thanks to the return of business after the relative decline of the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic facilitations and incentives launched by the Executive Board in November 2020 increased investors’ confidence in the market. In addition, February witnessed an acquisition worth Dhs690 million between real estate developers operating in Sharjah for a luxurious residential project.