War shadow dims Brand Dubai's glitter amid rising West Asia tensions

With $250 billion property deals in 2025, property market may continue to show resilience

A video showing political leaders walking with shoppers at Dubai Mall went viral on social media within hours of the first round of Iranian attack across the cities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The message of normalcy and calm went out to inspire confidence in the people amid military escalation.

 

But, as of now, Dubai, a city that has symbolised opulence, high-end shopping and vibrant nightlife through landmarks such as Burj Khalifa and Palm Jumeirah, may have lost the tag of safe haven it had earned over the last many decades. That’s a risk for Brand Dubai, at least for some time to come, if not in the long term.

 

Dubai’s brand image is definitely seeing some impact, even as it may not remain so in the long term, Santosh Desai, brand expert and chief executive officer (CEO) at Futurebrands told Business Standard. So far, Dubai has been seen as a peaceful oasis, which is vibrant and safe and a complete package for expats, Desai said.

 

“With the conflict playing out in the larger western Asia region, Dubai will not be singled out. It will not dent Dubai’s image specifically, because it has a lot going for it,’’ Samit Sinha, founder and managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting. According to Sinha, with parts of Europe and South America also in turmoil, it is all relative. ‘’Once things go back to normal in western Asia, Dubai, too, will bounce right back.”

 

Dubai, among the seven sovereign Emirates that make up the UAE federation, offers amongst the world’s highest rental yields at 6-9 per cent. Indians constitute 20-22 per cent of all foreign property buyers. Dubai’s property market recorded $250 billion in real estate deals in 2025, its highest ever, according to Anarock data.

 

Real estate players are suggesting that the dent on Brand Dubai may be short-lived. “We need to separate retail anxiety from institutional behaviour. A retail buyer might delay a flight, but for family offices and hedge funds, a safe haven doesn't mean a region completely immune to geopolitical noise, because that doesn't exist,” said Ritu Kant Ojha, a Dubai-based real estate strategist and CEO, Proact Luxury Real Estate.

 

Prashant Thakur, executive director and head of research and advisory at Anarock said that with the escalation of tensions involving Iran and parts of the Gulf and reports of attacks reaching parts of the UAE, investors are inevitably asking whether regional instability could derail one of the world’s most dynamic property markets. This will undoubtedly introduce a degree of caution among investors leading to moderation in transaction volumes in the near term.

 

Approximately 200,000 residential tr­ansactions valued at around AED 538 billion were recorded during the year. Since 2021, residential property prices in Dubai have risen by roughly 60–75 per cent, ma­king it one of the strongest housing cycles globally in the post-pandemic period.

 

Mamtu Mirchandani, vice president - asset management at Xperience Realty, said while recent events might cause some investors to pause for a moment, Dubai’s track record speaks for itself, with strong defenses and solid systems to handle these regional challenges. 

 

At the end of the day, for anyone eyeing real estate, it’s the big-picture stuff that matters most — like the steady population boom, all that money flowing in from ar­ound the globe, and the constant demand for rentals, according to Mirchandani. Citing tough times earlier like the 2020 pandemic, Mirchandani is betting on Dubai’s ability to attract investments, no matter what. 

 

With inputs from Sanket Koul