Doctorate Research Proposal: Evaluation of the Housing Market in UAE

This research proposal offers a thorough evaluation of the housing market in the UAE, with a specific focus on Abu Dhabi. It investigates the current state of the market, comparing it to global housing strategies and examining the potential for investment to address housing deficits. The proposal includes a detailed literature review exploring the collaboration between private and government sectors for housing provision, the comparison of Abu Dhabi's housing sector with global market strategies, and recommendations for improving the housing sector in Abu Dhabi. The methodology outlines the research philosophy, approach, and data collection methods, including qualitative methods, along with considerations for reliability and validity. The research aims to answer key questions about the market's current state and how to reduce deficits, providing a strategic approach to evaluating the UAE housing market.

Running head: DOCTORATE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Doctorate Research Proposal
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Content
1. Overview:...............................................................................................................................2
2. Research Questions................................................................................................................2
3. Research Literature................................................................................................................2
a). Collaboration of private and government for housing provision in Abu Dhabi...............4
b) Comparing the current state of the housing sector in Abu Dhabi to the housing strategies
of the global market...............................................................................................................5
c) Recommending a feasible proposal for Abu Dhabi housing sector...................................7
4. Research Methodology...........................................................................................................7
Research Philosophy:.............................................................................................................7
Research Approach and justifying inductive research approach...........................................8
Data collection methods:........................................................................................................9
Qualitative:.............................................................................................................................9
Reliability and Validity........................................................................................................10
5. Outcome...............................................................................................................................10
6. Time Scale............................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................12

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Research Title: Evaluation of the Housing Market in the UAE: A Strategic Approach
1. Overview:
This research proposal provides a detailed evaluation of Housing market in UAE.
UAE is known as the king of luxury housing as it holds some of the world’s tallest and
expensive properties which helps the nations to secure a top housing market in the
international environment. Al-Mohana and Hatemi (2016) mentioned that UAE certainly has
a large market of real estate and it is swiftly increasing and becoming stringer in the near
future. The purpose of the research proposal is to evaluate the housing market in Abu Dhabi
to learn how the investment can be made to housing to minimize the deficit in the housing
industry. The proposal compares the current state of the housing sector in Abu Dhabi and to
the housing strategies in other parts of the world. It is identified that the major vision of Abu
Dhabi Housing sector is to work on the development as well as implementation of housing
program for the citizen. The sector is focussing on providing the decent housing that certainly
meets the needs as well as the special requirement of citizens. To perform the proposed
research, suitable research questions have been formed and based on the questions a detailed
a brief literature revolving around UAE’s housing sector and housing market of the world
have been compared.
2. Research Questions
1. What is the current state of the housing market of Abu Dhabi?
2. How do the organizations in UAE’s housing sector could reduce the deficit and speed up
the growth of the sector?
3. Research Literature
The recent report from Cluttons indicates that the government guides the fiscal adjustment in
the regions, as the response to decreasing oil price (Magina 2016). On the other side, a

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research conducted by Hatemi-Roca and Al-Shayeb (2014) indicates that the residential areas
of Dubai continued to moderate during the second quarter of 2017. This might leave the
annual rate of change at -5.8% and marks 12th consecutive quarter of price decline during the
time period when the price have moderated by 14%. More specifically, Buckley and Hanieh
(2014) mentioned that complex continues fare better than villas with the decrease of price by
an average rate of 1% during the second quarter of last year compared to the decline of 2.2%
in villa values.
Even though, the price continues to decrease,small flaws in the sector may appear to
be creating an end with many regions began to demonstrate the mark of bottling out.
Furthermore, it has also been identified that during first six months of 2017, 7 out of 32 sub
markets were identified in the emirates registered price decline, with other all locations
observing no changes in values (Zhang, Zhu and Ye 2016). Mehta (2014) mentioned that
rent to end the year 5% to 7% lower than 2016 but as the sales market is growing potential
for a more suitable picture to emerge, the organizations started to filter through. The literature
strongly indicates that there is a continuous price decline in the housing sector on the back of
economic tightening as well as the disclosure of new housing stock, according to the report
provided by the real estate consultancy. However, Al-Mohana and Hatemi (2016) commented
that this decline was slightly less on quarterly basis with the percentage of 3% and 5% for
apartment rents, sales respectively. Nonetheless, Hatemi., Roca and Al-Shayeb (2014)
mentioned despite such division decline, the residential market of UAE faces an ongoing
pressure because of the continuous increase in vacancy rate, which result from the new
supply completing at the time of cuts in housing allowance and job losses.
On the other side, Forrest, Koh and Wissink (2017) mentioned that off-plan sales
started driving housing market as the entire emirate continues to observe the effects of
diminished government as well as the sluggish economic growth. In this context, Mouzughiet

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al. (2014) added that 2017 has been an year, the where the marketers observed the influence
of some economic factors with the inclusion of low price
a). Collaboration of private and government for housing provision in Abu Dhabi
As put forward by Chakravarty and Qamhaieh (2015), there is a persistent housing
shortage in Abu Dhabi and there is a new effort from the government of UAE nations to
achieve other socio-economic goals such as the reduction of unemployment as well as
weaning citizens from their dependence on the state. This scenario indicates that the regions
requires a more effective approach to the housing provision. In this context, Rizzo (2014),
instead of paying attention to bricks and mortar, the housing policies in the Abu Dhabi
market should support the development of vibrant communities, generate employment
opportunities and develop welfare of the society. Afshari, Nikolopoulou and Martin (2014)
also mentioned that government does not need to create this approach as there are several
successful and inspiring, which could help the GCC government to learn lessons. For
example, one of the story is about “Singapore Housing, Development Board and Hong
Kong’s use of environmental building practice”.
According to this author, such programs helped to build successful housing project
such as the “shared used complex” which combines housing, rental space and access to
public transportation. Nonetheless, according to the recent blogs and scholarly researched
papers, there are certain policies which are usually followed and implemented in the context
of housing provisions (Paleologos, Caratelli and El Amrousi 2016). Primarily, the right
approach may include some particular policies of sustainable development, urban planning
and a mixed use development which could further involve an amalgamation of residential and
civic space. In addition to this, the studies also indicate that sustainable housing could deliver
a set of environmental benefits.According to Khirfan and Jaffer (2014), there are several
buildings in the UAE regions and their owners are notoriously inefficient in the use of the

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space and energy. Zhang, Zhu and Ye (2016) provided the example that residential usage
could represent more than 65% of the overall consumption. However, it is identified that
solutions are already developed as some sustainable elements such as proper insulation for
external walls, double-glaze windows and fitted shades devices.
b) Comparing the current state of the housing sector in Abu Dhabi to the housing
strategies of the global market
Figure 1: Global Housing Growth index
(Source: Mouzughi, Bryde and Al-Shaer 2014)
It has been identified that global housing markets have gradually been increasing and it has
also been identified that real house price have increased over the past years in most of the
nations. As put forward by Mouzughi, Bryde and Al-Shaer (2014), house price in several
nations collapsed, marking the onset of an international financial crisis. The following figure

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indicates that the Global House Price Index remains as a simple average of real house price
for 57 nations, which is now almost back to its range before the shortage. Thus, Hatemi-
Roca and Al-Shayeb (2014) mentioned that this is the time to worry about this international
fall in housing pricing.
Figure 2: Global Housing price index
(Source: Hatemi- Roca and Al-Shayeb 2014)
On the other side, Zhang, Zhu and Ye (2016) mentioned that even though there is a
stable demand of housing in UAE nations, the price of housing is rapidly decreasing. The
growth of housing market in Abu Dhabi in the recent timehas not been effective compared to
the estimated demands. To stabilize the housing market in Abu Dhabi, the governments of the
nations are trying to make a sustainable collaboration. On the other side, in the global market,
the current boom in house price is not synchronized across nations. So, within the nations, the
boom is often restricted to one or few citifies. However, in most of the cases the booms are
not being driven by the strong credit growth because the price of some particular houses are
at the city level, which appears due to supply constraints.

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c) Recommending a feasible proposal for Abu Dhabi housing sector
The current housing sector in UAE indicates that Dubai’s housing market is close to
the bottom, but it is certain that Abu Dhabi has further to fall. Therefore, to rectify the
situation, the government of Abu Dhabi Municipality should develop a policy providing
housing for the low income group as well as renovate some old areas. Mouzughi, Bryde and
Al-Shaer (2014) mentioned that municipality of Abu Dhabi should create or announce an
initiative, which should further target the fixed income groups to satisfy the growing
residential needs. As mentioned by Al-Mohana and Hatemi- (2016), such initiative should
provide a proper and legal residential alternative for the low income citizens but creating an
investment opportunity for the owners of the property. On the contrary, Zhang, Zhu and Ye
(2016) mentioned that apartments in lower rents should generate a well-known luxury areas.
4. Research Methodology
Research Methodology remains as the systematic plan for performing the research in
which the sociologists draw on a particular variety of qualitative and quantitative research
techniques. Hence, such techniques may include survey research, observation, participation
and secondary data. In order to derive a desired result from study, the study includes a
detailed secondary analysis. The following are some of the methods that are supposed to be
used in the proposed research project.
Research Philosophy:
According to Broad (2014), the research philosophy can be of three types such as
positivism, interpretivism and realism. The positivism research philosophy observes the
world as different from the natural world as well as socially constructed in which the
organizations are the product of dialogue and negotiation. On the other side, Edson, Henning
and Sankaran, (2016) mentioned that interpretivism research philosophy observes the world
as different from the natural world and socially constructed, where the organizations remain

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as the product of dialogue and negotiation. It has also been identified that pragmatism
research philosophy could promote a philosophy containing relevant meaning and views the
account of reality as socially conveyed but they are valid insofar because they create practical
response. However, this particular philosophy tends to aim to produce a meaningful account
of social life and the work which could enable desired action. However, the proposed
research will include positivism research philosophy.
“Justifying the positivism research philosophy”
The positivism research philosophy will be selected for the proposed research because it
gives importance to numbers and statistical framework to create quantifiable and
generalizable implications which could create the basis for scientific regulations. In addition
to this, the research findings tend to judge against the criteria of validity and reliability.
Research Approach and justifying inductive research approach
The research approaches are divided into two different types such a deductive
research approach and inductive research approach. Deductive research approach helps to
examine the validity of assumption but inductive approach could contribute to the emergence
of emerging theories and broader generalizations. In this context, Sekaran and Bougie (2016)
commented that if the researcher has formulated a set of hypothesis that are required to be
confirmed or rejected at the time of research process, the researcher should be following a
deductive research approach. Conversely, the inductive research approach usually does not
involve the formulation of hypothesis. It generally starts with research questions, aims and
objectives that need to be achieved during the research process. Therefore, for the proposed
research, the inductive research has to be selected because, the study starts with aim
objectives and questions and it does not create any new theories. Conversely, deductive

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research approach has not been selected because deductive approach requires hypothesis to
be tested and verified. Moreover, the present study did not include any hypothesis.
Data collection methods:
The data collection process of collecting information from all the relevant sources to
find response to the stated the research problems. The data collection methods are usually
divided into two categories such as primary data collection and secondary data collection
(Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). Hence, the secondary data are the data that are not fresh
and new because they have been used by other scholar and any other media. So, this means,
the secondary data that have already been published in journals, books, blogs, newspaper and
other secondary sources. On the other side, the primary data are the data which are new and
fresh because they are not used anywhere before.
The primary data are usually collected by conducting surveys, interviews and other
experimental method. However, for the proposed research, the secondary data collection
method will be used because the research particularly does not consider any organization in
the housing sector of Abu Dhabi or UAE market. The analysis and the analysis and
discussion will be based on the industry data and the data provided by the organizations in the
housing sector of Abu Dhabi and other UAE nations. Likewise, for creating a comparison
between housing sector of Abu Dhabi and the global sector, the data will be collected from
the reports provided by authorized housing consultancy agencies such as PWC and Deloitte
Qualitative:
For conducting a secondary analysis, the qualitative data analysis method will be used
because the qualitative data analysis technique provides the scope for performing document
analysis. The major source qualitative document analysis in the proposed research are reports,
newsletters, peer –reviewed journal, and blogs on Abu Dhabi and global housing sector. In

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order to perform the analysis, all materials should be documented and read as well as few
descriptive research statistics related to the research will be derived from the sources of
secondary data. Nonetheless, Fusch and Ness (2015) mentioned that qualitative data analysis
are rarely integrated with comprehensiveness. Nevertheless, Cleary, Horsfall and Hayter
(2014) mentioned that qualitative data analysis is perfect because it creates a non-normative
focus.
Reliability and Validity
As put forward by Noble and Smith (2015), the reliability usually may refer to the
degree to which the same response can be derived utilizing the same instruments many a
times. In another sense, it can be mentioned that if the research is associated with the great
level of reliability and the research authority should be able to create the same response with
the help of same research methods. However, the analysis in the proposed research will be
reliable because the data will be collected from the valid sources and using the same
documentation analysis method, the similar outcome can be derived. Conversely, according
to Darawsheh (2014), the validity of research can be explained as the level at which the
requirements of a research technique have usually been implemented at the time the
necessary research findings. The analysis in the proposed study will be validated because
proper time scale for the research will be selected and appropriate methodology will be
chosen considering the characteristics of the research study.
5. Outcome
The outcome of the proposed research may help to learn about the current initiatives
that organizations in the housing sector of Abu Dhabi and UAE have taken to deal with the
challenge of continuous price fall and improper housing service.

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6. Time Scale
Main activities/ stages 1st-2nd
Week
3rd- 4th
Week
5th- 6th
Week
7th-8th
Week
9th- 10th
Week
11th- 12th
Week
Topic Selection
Data collection from secondary
sources
Framing layout of the research
Literature review
Formation of the research Plan
Selection of the Appropriate
Research Techniques
Primary data collection
Analysis & Interpretation of
Data Collection
Conclusion of the Study
Formation of Rough Draft
Submission of Final Work

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References
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Al-Mohana, S. and Hatemi-J, A., 2016. The Impact of Recent Crisis on the Real Estate
Market on the UAE: Evidence from Asymmetric
Methods. EconomiaInternazionale/International Economics, 69(4), pp.389-428.
Broad, C.D., 2014. Religion, philosophy and psychical research: selected essays. Routledge.
Buckley, M. and Hanieh, A., 2014. Diversification by urbanization: Tracing the property‐
finance nexus in Dubai and the Gulf. International Journal of Urban and Regional
Research, 38(1), pp.155-175.
Chakravarty, S. and Qamhaieh, A., 2015. City upgraded: Redesigning and disciplining
downtown Abu Dhabi. Global gentrifications: Uneven development and displacement, pp.59-
80.
Cleary, M., Horsfall, J. and Hayter, M., 2014. Data collection and sampling in qualitative
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Darawsheh, W., 2014. Reflexivity in research: Promoting rigour, reliability and validity in
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Forrest, R., Koh, S.Y. and Wissink, B. eds., 2017. Cities and the Super-Rich: Real Estate,
Elite Practices and Urban Political Economies. Springer.

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Fusch, P.I. and Ness, L.R., 2015. Are we there yet? Data saturation in qualitative
research. The qualitative report, 20(9), p.1408.
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