The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has launched what they are calling the ‘Real Estate Tokenisation Project.’
This project aims to diversify property ownership by allowing multiple investors to co-own a single property through tokenized real estate assets. This means that one apartment unit or apartment block may be owned by multiple people and ownership stakes are determined by the number of tokens one has bought.
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Real estate tokenization utilizes blockchain technology and allows the conversion of property assets into digital tokens, which then creates fractional ownership.
This process divides a property into smaller, investable units, allowing individuals to purchase shares based on their financial capabilities.
Essentially, tokenization enables partial property ownership without the need for a full purchase, leveraging advanced digital infrastructure. Tokenization distinguishes itself from crowdfunding by providing a more direct and structured ownership model through blockchain-secured tokens.
This is a great initiative aimed at helping investors who saw investing in Dubai’s real estate sector as a steep curve. This is especially good news for digital nomads as they can now invest in a multi-million dollar property by purchasing a fraction of it.
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This initiative, introduced under the Real Estate Innovation Initiative ‘REES,’ establishes DLD as the first real estate registration entity in the Middle East to implement tokenisation on property title deeds.
The project is being implemented in collaboration with the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) through Sandbox Dubai.
DLD anticipates that this groundbreaking initiative will drive significant growth in the real estate tokenisation sector, with its market value projected to reach AED 60 billion by 2033, representing 7% of Dubai’s total real estate transactions.
His Excellency Eng. Marwan Ahmed Bin Ghalita, Director General of Dubai Land Department had this to say:
“Amid rapid technological advancements and the increasing reliance on digital solutions, real estate tokenisation emerges as a revolutionary tool driving fundamental change in the real estate sector. By converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology, tokenisation simplifies and enhances buying, selling, and investment processes. This aligns perfectly with Dubai Land Department’s vision to achieve global leadership in real estate investment, leverage technology to develop innovative real estate products, and foster an ecosystem that supports real estate innovation.”
