Early days…
Podcast link: Aamir Malik & Wajid Sabir
I started my professional career in the early days while I was completing my MBA I started As a sales and customer services professional in hospitality industry. I have always have the desire to start my own business, it has always attracted me. So apart from working in the hospitality industry for few years with well-known five-star hotel in Pakistan I have also been involved in multiple start up business including a very well know shoe bran which I still own. In 2011, I moved to Dubai looking for international exposure and better opportunities and I started with the construction business and soon I realized the opportunity and potential of the real estate market here, but I had no previous experience of real estate, so I decided to start as a broker to get better understanding and knowledge of the industry before starting my own real estate business. My sales and customer service background really helped me, and I felt at ease in real estate and really felt that I belonged to this city and the industry.
ANW origin and growth so far
Aamir Malik
Post covid19 lockdown we decided to start real estate brokerage together and we decided to name our business with our initials that’s where the name ANW Comes from Amir and Wajid. The market then was not at its best, especially for a new real estate business, however we were confident that with our combined skills and experience we could make it happen. We had complete faith in Dubai and we knew this market would bounce back strongly. We were lucky enough to make a small but very strong team right from the start, most of our team members were our friends from the industry who have faith in us. We started in a very small office in a business center and within the first six months, we moved to our office in Business Bay. Today, we have a strong team of more than 70
sales agents with two offices in Dubai, a holiday homes business and a digital marketing business as well as kiosks in Nakheel mall Palm Jumeirah and in Trafford Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Rising rents a concern for tenants or an opportunity for them to turn into homeowners?
Aamir malik
We have witnessed a steady increase in the rental prices in the market, apart from the high demand because of the population growth there has also been a significant increase of rental properties in the short-term rental or holiday homes market, and I see the rental pricing increasing even more in coming months. with the recent cut in the mortgage rates by the federal bank making financing more affordable and developers offering easy payment plans including 1% monthly payments I see this as a perfect opportunity for the tenants to become homeowners. We have already witnessed this as a trend in the market and more tenants are looking to buy properties and recent market reports show that 66% of the tenants are looking to own a property.
Early days
Wajid Sabir
After completing my Graduation in information Technology I moved to Dubai in 2007. I started my career as an IT administrator in Century 21 gulf group real estate in august 2007, in first few months of my job I saw the potential in the real estate market and decided to get into sales and ever since I never looked back. I fell in love with this city and the real estate industry. Over the years I have worked with the top real estate brokerages here before starting ANW Real Estate in 2020.
Year 2024 outplayed 2023 so far, how about 2025?
If we look at the market post covid it has consistently been performing very strongly, we saw the real estate transaction in 2023 surpassing 2022 by 29% and the market has followed the same trend in 2024 and total transactions has exceeded 400 billion dirhams in value so far this year. Dubai population has grown at a impressive 4.39% this year and population is expected to exceed 4million in 2025. we have witnessed the high-net-worth individuals moving to Dubai from all parts of the world and that I think this trend will continue in 2025 as Dubai will maintain its status as the world’s top wealth magnet and the real estate market will remain a robust power house of immense growth. With the government’s initiatives, economic and political stability, favorable market dynamics, global investor interest, leisure and lifestyle opportunities, capital gains and city’s status as the safe heaven I think Dubai real estate market will continue its upward trajectory 2025.
Ras al Khaimah real estate market is flourishing, do you see RAK market as good opportunity for investors?
Ras Al Khaimah freehold real estate market started in 2005 and it has been popular within investors and end users, however since the announcement of Wynn gaming resort in 2022 we have witnessed the substantial increase in real estate demand. Being the first integrated gaming resort in the region Wynn will be a game changer for the emirates and identifying this opportunity we see the largest real estate players like Emaar, Aldar, Damac and Dar Global etc have launched their projects there.
We saw a remarkable growth in real estate prices by 50% in 2023 and 2024 saw a significant increase in the prices compare to 2023, while the most driving factor is Ras Al Khaimah’s $ 3.9 billion Wynn Casino which not only attracts investors but visitors too. The government’s proactive measures, strategic initiatives and vision for sustainable growth continue to position the emirate as an investment destination of choice in the region.
