26-05-2025
Innovative steps keeping Dubai's property sector on top of the world
Dubai's initiative on real estate tokenisation is expected to revolutionise the sector, as more investors can now enter the booming market, an expert said.
'Tokenized organization of properties is going to happen on a major scale in Dubai. TokeniSation will accelerate the pace of sale, because they will increase affordability. We've been collaborating for a long time with blockchain and virtual assets, which are basically an enhanced form of fractional ownership. It might soon be possible to invest in Dubai property probably at Dh100,' Imran Khan, CEO of Pixl Group, an off-plan real estate marketing agency, told Khaleej Times in an interview.
Real estate tokenisation transforms real estate assets into digital tokens using blockchain technology. Each asset is divided into shares based on an investor's budget and financial strategy, enabling fractional property ownership.
On March 19, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) launched the pilot phase of the Real Estate Tokenisation Project, which seeks to diversify property ownership by allowing multiple investors to co-own a single property through tokenised real estate assets.
On cue with this initiative, in the world's largest real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation initiative to date, MAG, a leading UAE real estate developer, last week signed a $3 billion tokenisation agreement with MultiBank Group, the world's largest financial derivatives institution based in Dubai, and Mavryk, a leading blockchain innovator. The partnership will bring MAG's high-value real estate developments — The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Dubai, Creekside, which is part of the Keturah Resort, and Keturah Reserve — onto the blockchain, making them available to global investors.
Khan does not see the Dubai property market slowing down anytime soon. Especially with the global economic uncertainty as a result of the tariff wars, investors are looking for safe havens to park their funds, and the emirate offers one of the safest investment horizons on the planet.
'I always say Dubai feeds Dubai. So as long as the developers of Dubai continue to launch, the brokers of Dubai have something new to sell and give their investors, and the investors have a reason to invest. A lot of overseas investors are now entering this market, as they are seeing buyer sentiment down in their home countries. Affordability is becoming low, prices are high, so the market has softened a lot in the UK, and India. In the US, everyone's just holding back. So all these players are now coming to Dubai,' Khan said.
Pixl started in 2019 to service the off-plan real estate market. 'We initially used to do something very simple, which is generating leads for brokers. And these brokers, obviously, when they started selling on our leads, they were more confident, and they started introducing us to developers. Developers then partook of the services, and then we realized that there are some tech solutions that are needed, so we started doing CRMs, websites, which eventually led to branding, media buying, events and PR' Khan said. Over time, Pixl has evolved and now offers a full ecosystem for developers and brands in the Dubai property market.
Pixl's evolution and success have not gone unnoticed. The agency has recently celebrated six years in the industry and was honored with multiple prestigious accolades, including the Region's Best Development Marketing at the International Property Awards 2024-2025, a Winner at the MEPRA Awards for its standout campaign on Franck Muller Aeternitas, and recognition as the 9th Fastest Growing Agency globally by ADWEEK. These awards mark Pixl's recognition as a powerhouse in real estate marketing, blending creativity, technology, and strategy.
A key element in the UAE real estate market are the branded residences. The city itself is considered a brand, and it attracts global brands to collaborate on residential projects. However, Khan believes the brands who lend their names to residences need to think about delivering real value to the investor.
'I think branded residences will continue to flourish. However, developers need to very quickly realize that when they add a brand to a residential product, it must deliver some key value to the investor. Brand, for the sake of brand, will fade away soon, because investors are intelligent. They might buy a product today, but two, three years down the line when it is delivered, they will feel the value and impact the brand has,' Khan said.
Pixl Group currently employs 130 people and expects to add another 100 by the end of this year. Beyond Dubai, the company is also looking at the Abu Dhabi market.
'We are definitely looking very aggressively at Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, because we believe that Ras Al Khaimah is now, Abu Dhabi is tomorrow. So these markets definitely will be strong footholds for us. We are looking very aggressively at the US. We've already set up base there. I believe Miami will be a very strong market for us. I also feel that New York will be another market that we want to look at properly in parallel,' Khan said.
