Dubai’s property market crumbles in crisis

Dubai famously used to boast the highest concentration of construction cranes in the world.

Now, its property sector has investors fighting for the return of down-payments on buildings that might never be built and state-linked developers continuing to fall behind on contracting invoices despite having received billions of dollars in bail-out cash.

Firesales saw drastic reductions at previously desirable locations such as the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai’s first completed manmade island development, and at the Old Town district surrounding Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest tower that is planned to open later this year.