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- Dubai Property Stays Strong; Coraly.ai Raises $2M; Lulu Earnings Jump On E-Commerce
Dubai Property Stays Strong; Coraly.ai Raises $2M; Lulu Earnings Jump On E-Commerce
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Thursday, August 14, 2025
Happy Thursday everyone!
Dubai’s property sector continues to display resilience, with strong fundamentals supporting a construction boom that is set to add 250,000 new homes in the coming years. In startup news, Dubai-based proptech Coraly.ai secured $2 million in pre-seed funding to expand its AI-powered real estate platform across the GCC, Europe, and the US. Meanwhile, retail giant Lulu posted a 9% rise in half-year earnings to $127 million, fuelled by a 34% surge in online sales, though its share price remains down about one-third year-to-date.
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Dubai’s Property Market Shows Strong Fundamentals Amid Construction Surge
🔹 What Is It About
Dubai’s real estate market remains buoyant, supported by strong demand from foreign professionals, favourable visa reforms, and a weaker USD boosting overseas purchasing power, a Bloomberg analysis has revealed. Nearly 250,000 new homes are expected in the coming years, marking a 30% supply increase. Despite the rapid pace of development, transaction values in the first half of 2025 hit a record AED 431.2 billion, up 25% year-on-year, with prices rising 16.6% over the same period.
🔹 Why It Matters
Analysts highlight that Dubai’s current boom rests on firmer foundations than past cycles. Stricter mortgage caps, upfront land payments by developers, and a market dominated by genuine end-users have reduced speculative risks. Resale within a year accounts for less than 5% of transactions, compared to 25% in 2008, indicating a healthier, more sustainable market dynamic.
🔹 What’s Next
With new supply on the horizon, Dubai’s market is poised to cater to continued international demand. Strategic regulations and disciplined financing should help absorb the influx without destabilising prices. Industry leaders believe the city’s robust infrastructure, lifestyle appeal, and investor-friendly policies will ensure long-term resilience, keeping Dubai an attractive global real estate hub.
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Markets
EGX 30 | 35,855.26 | – 0.41% |
DFMGI | 6,091.45 | – 0.442% |
ADX | 10,282.65 | – 0.131% |
Tadawul | 10,763.66 | – 0.06% |
Coraly.ai Secures $2 Million Pre-Seed Funding To Drive GCC And Global Expansion
🔹 What Is It About
Dubai-based proptech startup Coraly.ai, formerly Coralytics, has raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by Salica Oryx Fund, with participation from EQ2 Ventures and strategic angel investors. The AI-powered platform helps real estate professionals streamline lead generation and conversion. The funding will accelerate product development, expand AI capabilities, and support market entry in Saudi Arabia, France, and the United States.
🔹 Why It Matters
Coraly.ai aims to modernise the real estate industry, where agents often rely on outdated, fragmented sales tools. By offering a unified, AI-driven growth platform, the company seeks to boost productivity and efficiency across global markets. With strategic backing from regional and international investors, Coraly.ai is positioning itself as a category leader in proptech, starting from the GCC and scaling worldwide.
🔹 What’s Next
Calls for greater oversight are growing as reports of Nafis misuse circulate on social media. Experts say companies should separate base salaries from government incentives in job offers. With the UAE targeting 75,000 private-sector Emirati jobs by 2025, clear regulations and enforcement could be key to preserving the program’s credibility and ensuring it serves its intended purpose — supporting Emirati talent without replacing fair employer compensation.
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Lulu’s Half-Year Earnings Boosted By Surge In Online Sales, But Shares Maintain Low Price
🔹 What Is It About
Lulu Retail Holdings, the GCC’s largest grocery retailer, reported a 9% rise in net earnings to $127 million in the first half of 2025, driven by a 34% jump in e-commerce revenue. Overall sales rose 6% to $4 billion, with strong growth in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, partially offset by a decline in Oman. Private label sales also gained, and seven new stores were opened in the period.
🔹 Why It Matters
The performance underscores Lulu’s growing success in online retail, which now accounts for 6% of total revenue. The push into e-commerce, alongside higher-margin private label products, is helping offset market challenges such as price declines and stagnant volumes in certain geographies. Despite operational gains, Lulu’s share price remains under pressure, falling by about one-third year-to-date.
🔹 What’s Next
Lulu plans to open nine more stores by year-end, aiming to sustain growth through geographic expansion and increased online penetration. The retailer declared an interim dividend of $98.4 million, in line with its IPO policy, while keeping net debt steady at $2.5 billion. Continued e-commerce momentum and margin improvement will be key for its future performance.
👨💻From Smashi Business’ Desk
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Why did Careem mint so many founders? Saudi entrepreneur Wajd Badawi has an answer
A 7-year-old just built an AI app on Replit — and his dad, a Saudi tech CEO, had never built one himself.
A robot greeted Dubai ruler HH Sheikh Mohammed — and it wasn’t science fiction.
Dubai-based CEO Alex Bendiouis has reimagined one of the city’s most iconic archival images into an AI video.
🔍In other news…
Dubai rental market cooling but not crashing, experts tell AGBI
Middle East data centre spending spree slows
Saudi-owned Lucid Motors says Chinese magnet shortage nearly halted production
New toll gates, variable pricing: Total Salik revenue jumps nearly 40% in H1
Dubai developers bring construction in-house as demand surges
Egypt signs $1B deal with China's Sailun group for tyre factory, cabinet says
Turkey aims to export 900MW of electricity to Syria by first quarter of 2026
🏦 Crypto Corner
Michael Saylor — Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy and one of Bitcoin’s most vocal corporate advocates — will make his first-ever appearance in the UAE at Bitcoin MENA in Abu Dhabi.
Hut 8, part of a American BTC which is partially owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, Gets Approval to Operate in Dubai Financial Hub.
Abu Dhabi Judicial Department now accept AE Coin.
We are launching a Smashi Crypto newsletter in September 2025! Subscribe to it here to get the weekly updates from the world of digital assets.
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