Dubai Land Department (DLD) opened the 22nd edition of the International Property Show (IPS 2026) at Dubai World Trade Centre on Monday as Strategic Partner, with Director General Omar Hamad Bu Shehab present for the launch.
The department is using its Hall 7 stand and a series of panel discussions to present digital services, market data, and investment initiatives to developers, brokers, and investors across the show’s three days, which run until September 9.
At the opening panel, Majid Saqr Al Marri, CEO of DLD’s Corporate Support Sector, cited first-half 2026 figures that indicate sustained market activity.
A total of 104 projects were completed in that period, with a combined investment value exceeding AED 111 billion and 24,537 new units added to supply. Against the same period in 2025, completed project numbers rose 38.7 per cent, investment value grew by 52 per cent, and new units increased by more than 36 per cent.
Al Marri also pointed to the First-Time Home Buyer Programme, launched in July 2025, which had enabled more than 3,200 residents to buy their first Dubai homes by June 2026, generating transactions worth over AED 5 billion.
“Our participation as a Strategic Partner in the event enables investors to gain first-hand insights into this ecosystem, engage directly with its various stakeholders, and turn their interest in Dubai into new opportunities for collaboration and investment. Through the services, data, and digital solutions we provide, we continue to enhance the experience of investors, developers, and customers, while strengthening the market’s ability to meet the needs of diverse investor segments,” he said.
DLD officials took part in two further sessions. Mohammed Yahya, Director of the Real Estate Transactions Department, spoke at the Leaders Panel on Global Real Estate Market Trends 2026, addressing how open data and digital transformation are shaping investor behaviour and property rights registration.
Eng. Mohamad Al Dah, a regulatory consultant at DLD, appeared on a panel about the UAE’s real estate future, covering PropTech, the REES Real Estate Innovation Initiative, and the “Initial Registration” platform, which connects project registration, transaction recording, and escrow account management into a single digital process.
Day one also included a workshop on Emirati talent in the sector, run in collaboration with the Emirati Human Resources Development Council, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (Nafis).
A separate “Jusoor” forum, organised with Dubai SME, connected national companies with procurement and collaboration opportunities across construction, technology, marketing, and consultancy services tied to the real estate sector.
At its stand, DLD is demonstrating the Initial Registration platform, which uses artificial intelligence to read documents and process transactions, as well as the First-Time Home Buyer Programme, the Dubai REST application, and “Malik”, its round-the-clock customer service assistant. DLD said all of its activity at IPS 2026 is tied to the objectives of the Dubai Real Estate Strategy 2033 and the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.
