The real estate market is undergoing a global transformation: from a simple asset for investors, it is increasingly becoming a fully-fledged portfolio diversification tool, alongside stocks, bonds, and digital assets. As a result, demand is growing for transparent investment models, projected returns, and scenario analysis. This approach underpins the work of Sunlocate (Dubai), which relies on comprehensive financial and market analytics. Blockchain and other digital tools also play a key role.
Valentin Kulikov, CEO of Sunlocate Properties and a serial entrepreneur with 15 years of experience launching and scaling international projects, discusses how data-driven consulting and analytics platforms are replacing traditional agencies.
Data-Driven Investments: An Analytics-Based Strategy
The global real estate market remains volatile and uncertain. Global technological shifts, geopolitical risks, currency fluctuations, unstable interest rates, inflationary pressure, and a host of other factors are to blame. In these conditions, investors are seeking safe havens: for example, according to JLL, international real estate investment is projected to decline by 12% by 2025, while demand for more manageable products – real estate funds with capital protection and limited income volatility – has grown.
In Dubai, where we’ve had a strong presence for the past few years, the situation is developing similarly: over 65% of large foreign investors request more in-depth yield analysis when purchasing a property, including stress tests, the risk of price declines and rental demand, and exit scenarios.
Therefore, to formulate a customized strategy, we begin with a thorough analysis of the market and its development scenarios: we consider capital flows, demographics, regulations, rental demand, and yield sensitivity to external factors. We’ve already tested this methodology in the UAE real estate sector – one of the fastest-growing markets with a steadily growing influx of foreign capital – and are now applying it to other MENA markets, including Oman. This allows investors to compare projects in different countries using similar parameters and make decisions based on data rather than intuition.
How Technology is Transforming Real Estate Investing
Investors are increasingly turning to digital assets to escape the volatility of traditional assets. According to CoinShares, investments in cryptoassets and tokenized funds have grown by 160% over the past couple of years, compared to 42% for traditional instruments. The analytical approach we developed is particularly in demand among these investors, who are accustomed to precise models and metrics and expect similar instruments from the real estate market.
We see this in the example of blockchain. Tokenization allows for the recording of property rights and ownership shares in real estate on a distributed ledger, lowering the barrier to entry and increasing liquidity. For investors, this means the ability to flexibly allocate capital and manage risk, while for the market, it represents an influx of new audiences who are less likely to invest in traditional high-cost projects.
The United States leads the global tokenized real estate market with a 37% share. Here, blockchain is particularly popular for commercial properties and real estate funds due to its mature infrastructure, transparent regulation, and interest from institutional investors. One example is a luxury apartment in New York City worth over $30 million, which was tokenized on Ethereum.
Just two years ago, Europe accounted for approximately 28% of the global tokenized real estate market. German and French companies are already offering such products as part of collective investments, and in Switzerland, blockchain is being used to structure luxury real estate transactions, including large commercial properties. One of the most well-known examples is BrickMark, which used tokens to partially purchase a premium building on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, valued at approximately 130 million Swiss francs ($140 million).
Blockchain is actively developing in the UAE, including with government support. For example, the Dubai Department of Land and Resources, together with other government agencies, launched the Prypco Mint platform, which allows investors to acquire tokenized shares in residential properties starting at AED 2,000 ($545). It’s significant that the first tokenized properties in Dubai were purchased within the first 24 hours by investors from over 40 countries, and the transaction value in the first month exceeded $400 million. By 2033, this value could reach $16 billion, or approximately 7% of Dubai’s entire real estate market.
These countries demonstrate how blockchain and other digital tools are gradually moving from the experimental stage to become an infrastructural element of the market, opening up new opportunities. New opportunities for investors. However, for these opportunities to be truly effective, they must be combined with technology, deep analysis, and an understanding of macroeconomic factors and investor behavior. Sunlocate serves as such a bridge between traditional assets and new digital instruments, offering a unified analytical approach.
What’s next: real estate as part of the investment ecosystem
In the near future, we will see even deeper integration of the real estate market with financial and digital ecosystems. Blockchain, tokenization, and digital platforms expand opportunities for international investors and facilitate portfolio diversification. However, analytics and strategic thinking remain key: they enable real estate to transform from a static asset into a manageable and effective tool for long-term capital growth.
