Since 2014, the real estate market has experienced a sharp decline in Dubai due to an oversupply of developers. The committee, tasked by the sheikh to establish a ten-year strategy, will include representatives from major real estate developers operating in the Emirate of Dubai. A slowing economy and an oversupply of homes are big downside risks to their already weak outlook.

The real estate crisis is at its peak in Dubai. Between increasing public spending and structural reforms, the city is trying to find solutions.

Difficulties in the sector - which range from collapsing prices to bad-paying developers putting construction companies already in need of funds at risk - have prompted Dubai authorities to take charge of this capital market for the emirate . The government has established two committees to balance supply and demand and has appointed two senior officials to deal with struggling public enterprises.

In 2018, the Dubai economy grew only 1.94%, the slowest since the financial crisis of 2009, penalized by a difficult period in a context of a slowdown in its real estate market.

Dubai, whose economy is focused on tourism and services to international companies, is now expected to grow 3.8% in 2020 and 2.8% in 2021, according to the government, but much will depend on external factors.

"Real estate is such a disaster," said a banker who bought his Palm home in 2013 and has since seen its value plummet by 35%. "My retirement has been delayed by a decade."

The Palm is the most prominent victim of declining properties. Residential and commercial prices fell another 13 to 15 percent in Dubai last year, according to real estate services company Asteco, with apartment and villa rental rates down 11 and 10 percent, respectively.

Some contemplate that Dubai could still play its "last card" by opening casinos, balancing the Islamic reaction with the boost for a hotel sector struggling with a drop in tourism spending.

In a megalopolis with futuristic skyscrapers and where there is no shortage of luxury apartments, developers are still building for the 2020 World Expo, an event that is expected to create 300,000 jobs and attract more than 20 million visitors.