Dubai's real estate frenzy has set developers on a $6 billion debt spree

Developers race for land, leaning on bonds even as maturities loom

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Property developers in the UAE are raising billions through a growing arsenal of funding tools — from Islamic bonds to private credit — as they ride one of the Gulf country's longest real estate booms in years.

Data compiled by Bloomberg show dollar bond and sukuk issuance alone has grown more than 12-fold to $6 billion since 2021, underscoring how widely developers have accessed the market in a short time.

Rush for plots

Names once unknown to international debt capital markets, including Arada Developments, Binghatti Holding, and Omniyat Holdings, are now regular sukuk issuers, joining heavyweights like Emaar Properties, Aldar Properties, and Damac Properties.

More new names like Samana Developers are planning to test capital markets, and Arada is even weighing a convertible sukuk, a rare move in a region still new to equity-linked financing.

Many firms are racing to get more cash to buy land as the competition to secure prime locations in the UAE intensifies. Their push into new pockets of the credit market highlights a growing role for local and international bond investors in Dubai real estate. Property prices have already risen more than 70 per cent since 2019 in the city, and are also surging in the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Growing wall of maturities