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Domestic real estate agencies and influencers on social networks have been promoting Dubai as a safe investment haven for the past three years. They mostly offer apartments that are not yet available to interested parties. In addition, a number of local real estate investors are speculating on a quick profit from the fact that non-existent apartments, i.e. de facto reservation contracts, will be sold at auction before they are even built.
Dubai’s reputation as a stable and safe country and the long-term rising prices of real estate there allowed such speculation. Due to the drones and missiles flying from Iran to the countries around the Persian Gulf, the situation suddenly changed.
“I live in Dubai, I believe in Dubai, I am a resident of the United Arab Emirates, so this is a very difficult situation for me personally. I have never encountered anything like this to such an extent. I have hundreds of clients who have bought properties there. They all write to me, they want analysis, data, but it is too early for that now. Nobody knows what will happen to prices. No real estate broker knows,” he told Seznam Zprávy Biznys real estate broker Petr Brzobohatý, who has been selling apartments in Dubai for several years.
The Next Reality group also focuses on the sale of real estate in Dubai. “Our salespeople have the task of calling all clients and informing them. It is important to say that the current situation does not threaten their investment in any way. People asked if something could happen to their money. The payment system for new apartments is set up so that the money is in escrow accounts. Developers cannot get to them at all,” said Next Reality owner Robert Hanzl.
Dubai Airport, a key hub for international air travel, has been closed since Saturday. This happened after one of the airport halls was damaged as a result of the Iranian attack. Now, airport operations are gradually starting up in a limited mode. After the attack, the famous Dubai Fairmont hotel was also on fire, the debris of the downed drone also set fire to another iconic hotel, the Burj Al-Arab. Smoke also rose from Dubai Harbor over the weekend.
Photo: Reuters
Smoke over Dubai after the Iranian attacks on Sunday, March 1.
In recent days, part of the Czech businessmen operating in Dubai have been filming videos in the city, in which they try to show that the war has not affected normal life in the city in any way.
“Nothing falls here, we are completely safe here,” said Oliver Nosek, a businessman in Dubai, on the Instagram social network. “Everything is fine here. I have extreme faith in Dubai and I feel safe here,” real estate seller Jiří Hanousek said in a video published on the same network.
For example, according to the head of the Next Reality real estate agency, it is not possible to give the impression that everything is fine. “The public deserves really serious information. It cannot be said that nothing happened there. This is how one should not work with information in such a complex situation at all. It casts a very bad shadow on our field,” commented Hanzl.
Entrepreneur Jiří Hanousek stands by his words on social networks.
“But it depends a lot on where you are moving. When I spoke to a friend who was in a hotel, they were moving them to garages to hide in a shelter during the first night. These are things you don’t want to experience. On the other hand, today is Monday, the first day of work, and Dubai works in such a way that you wouldn’t recognize that a war is going on not far from here. People are on the beaches, at work, in restaurants. Life here works absolutely normally today,” he said in a statement for List of Messages.
The risk of a long war
According to the interviewed real estate brokers, the further development of the value of real estate investments in Dubai will depend on the outcome of the conflict with Iran.
“We know from statistics and analysis that in countries with a long-term war conflict, real estate prices fall and their devaluation occurs. That is a fact. Now the question is whether it will escalate into a war conflict, in which the United Arab Emirates would be directly involved, or whether it will remain with the Emirates saying that it is wrong, but will not join the conflict themselves and will not start flying rockets at them,” said real estate trader Petr Brzobohatý.
“It mainly depends on how long it will last. Real estate everywhere in the world is governed by supply and demand. If there is a high demand for housing, work and tourism in Dubai, it will not have a major impact. However, if the conflict were to drag on and be reflected in the perception of Dubai in the long term, the demand for housing may decrease in the short term, and this will be reflected in prices,” noted businessman Jiří Hanousek.
However, according to the head of Next Reality Hanzla, the cooling of the real estate market could also benefit the market. “People may be embarrassed now and developers will come in with incentives. And when markets fall, it’s good to buy again,” he noted.
No statistics capture the number of Czech real estate investors in Dubai. However, from the statements of brokers, you can at least get an idea of what types of buyers purchase real estate in the Emirates.
Some domestic buyers purchase apartments in Dubai directly for their own use. Others are betting on rental income, which, according to brokers, is higher in the Emirates than in the Czech Republic. The third group are the so-called flippers, i.e. speculators who bet on selling the apartment quickly at a higher price even before it is built. Last but not least, some influencers from social networks make money by referring clients from the Czech Republic to Dubai developers for commissions.
In September 2025, long before the current conflict, Moody’s published an estimate of a “slight price correction” in Dubai real estate starting this year. At the same time, the renowned rating agency said that the five-year period of rapid price growth in Dubai is over. Another rating agency, Fitch, estimated last year that real estate prices in Dubai would drop by 15 percent.
