UAE, Dubai, 11 March, 2018:  A new group of ‘Hybrid’ cities recorded by JLL as having clear attributes of either ‘Emerging World Cities’ or ‘New world Cities’, has placed Dubai among the world’s top destinations for FDI in the real estate market. In a new report by JLL titled, World Cities:

Mapping the Pathways to Success, ‘Hybrid’ cities are best epitomised by Dubai. 

Dubai has been making progress in improving real estate transparency and as a result has witnessed high levels of foreign investor activity in the last cycle.

Earning its position as the most transparent real estate market in the Middle East in JLL’s 2016 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI), Dubai has been termed as a ‘Hybrid’ city due to several initiatives to improve transparency and witnessing a transformation in the quality of its commercial real estate market. 

Going by its definition, ‘Hybrid’ cities are medium-sized and compete in specialised markets, which benefit from access to large domestic markets.

They are durable over the medium term and are among top real estate investment destinations, as seen in the case of Dubai.  

Such cities have a superior live-ability equation compared to their national and regional peers. 

Craig Plumb, Head of Research, JLL MENA said, “Dubai and Abu Dhabi top the list of being termed Hybrid cities.

They share characteristics, aspirations and priorities in terms of the specialisms that they nurture, the talent and businesses that they attract, and the style and quantity of real estate required. With this in mind, it makes sense to assess cities in the Middle East as it allows room to evaluate the competitiveness of the market.” 

Understanding the drivers behind success in real estate markets across the globe and the Middle East is becoming ever more complex.

Investors and businesses are having to look well beyond the standard performance metrics to embrace a far more extensive range of factors that are now shaping cities globally and regionally.

A city’s speed of transformation and adaptability, the nuances of its metropolitan leadership, its resilience strategy and its capacity to deliver bold projects are among the factors that are assessed for the long term potential of a city and its real estate market.