How to assess Dubai's property market? Count the expat pupils
|
Property prices fell in Dubai during the global financial crisis, but are now climbing up again Photo: Alamy
US bank Citigroup is gauging the strength of Dubai's real estate sector by working out how many expat children are enrolled in schools there.
A novel method of gauging the property market in Dubai has been launched that involves counting the number of expat schoolchildren around the city.
US banking giant Citigroup has issued a report which uses school enrolment patterns to estimate growth levels among the expat population. This, in turn, links to economic wellbeing in Dubai, which is a good indicator of the health of the property sector.
Farouk Soussa, Middle East economist for Citigroup, said: “In an economy where 96 per cent of the workforce is made up of expatriates whose right to reside in the emirate is linked to their ongoing employment, the feedback between growth and demographics is particularly acute.”
