At Cityscape Abu Dhabi this year, everything was different. The long queues at the registration desk were gone, so too were investors rushing with drawn checkbooks to buy newly-launched properties. The first day of the exhibition was alarmingly quiet and calm. “It is different now compared to last year and the year before,” Omair Al Dhaheri, chairman of Midein Holding, told Executive on the showcase’s first day. Ian Albert, regional director of Colliers International, said previous Cityscapes were so packed with people it made walking difficult. Despite this year’s toned down exhibition, he felt a “general mood of optimism.” “Whether that will translate in the next couple of days we can wait and see,” Albert said. This year’s traffic has been reduced due to the global financial crisis. Investors and end-users are less keen on spending their money on properties, and the mood was more or less expected. “I think
