Dubai’s leading property developers are increasingly looking beyond the emirate’s borders, pursuing aggressive international expansion strategies to diversify revenue streams and reduce dependence on local market cycles. Emaar, DAMAC, and Sobha Realty have all benefited from soaring Dubai property prices and foreign investment, but are now casting wider nets across global markets and new industry sectors.
Emaar, developer of the Burj Khalifa, is making its most ambitious move yet with domestic property sales hitting Dh46 billion in the first half of 2025, up 46% year-on-year. Founder Mohamed Alabbar told the Financial Times that the board is exploring a global acquisition strategy, eyeing markets including the US, India, China, and Europe, preferring to acquire established developers rather than building operations from scratch. Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro, noted: “Buying into established developers offers a quicker route to market. It reduces project lead times, helps navigate regulatory environments, and gives Emaar access to supply chains and local know-how.”
DAMAC Properties is taking expansion beyond traditional real estate with a $20 billion plan to build data centers across Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma, while continuing luxury real estate and hospitality development abroad including DAMAC Tower Nine Elms in London and a Maldives resort partnership with Mandarin Oriental. Sobha Realty has set sights on Dallas, Texas, with plans for broader U.S. expansion and a goal of $1 billion in first-year sales, leveraging its “backward integration” construction model for quality control and efficiency.
The international push contrasts with developers like Nakheel and Meraas, which continue focusing on Dubai’s market depth through large-scale waterfront projects and lifestyle-oriented developments. These varying strategies highlight how some companies see global expansion as essential while others bet on Dubai’s ongoing real estate cycle and market resilience.
The expansion wave marks a pivotal moment for Dubai’s property industry, with developers balancing the strength of a booming home market against the ambition and risks of international growth. Success will depend on their ability to navigate global markets, form strategic partnerships, and execute acquisitions that match the scale and efficiency of their proven domestic operations, determining which companies emerge as global players beyond the UAE market.
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