The Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced on Wednesday the launch of the pilot phase of its ‘Real Estate Tokenisation Project,’ aiming to integrate tokenisation into property title deeds and unlock new investment opportunities.
DLD aims to broaden property ownership by enabling multiple investors to co-own a single property through tokenized real estate assets.
Real estate tokenisation converts physical assets into digital tokens using blockchain technology, dividing each property into shares based on an investor’s budget and financial strategy, thereby facilitating fractional ownership.
This innovative approach marks a major shift in real estate investment by allowing individuals to acquire a portion of a property without purchasing it outright. Unlike crowdfunding, which provides access to real estate investment through digital platforms with smaller financial commitments, tokenization offers a more structured and regulated investment model.
Dh60-Billion Market Potential
The initiative is expected to reinforce Dubai’s position as a leading regional and global hub for virtual assets, boosting its competitiveness on both local and international fronts.
DLD projects that real estate tokenization will drive significant market expansion, with its total value estimated to reach Dh60 billion by 2033, accounting for seven percent of Dubai’s overall real estate transactions.
“Tokenisation simplifies and enhances real estate transactions by converting assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology,” said Marwan Ahmed Bin Ghalita, Director General of the Dubai Land Department.
“Following the pilot phase this year, we will evaluate the outcomes and apply key learnings to refine the project before its full-scale implementation.”
Bin Ghalita further highlighted that the project is part of the newly introduced ‘REES’ Real Estate Innovation Initiative, designed to attract a diverse range of technology firms.
The initiative is being developed in collaboration with the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) through SandBox Real Estate.
