Welcome to another episode of our serious SLDB Dabs by Super Luxury Group, where we connect with some of the most interesting players in the luxury market. My name is Alvaro, and today we'll be having with us a very special guest. His name is Henry Faun, and he is the partner and head of the international team for Night Frank in Dubai. He will be talking about the current real estate market trends and lifestyle in Dubai.
Henry will also be sharing with us how Dubai is adapting to the current situation with tourism and how connections and relationships have been the key elements to succeed during this time. Great insights for those interested in Dubai's latest trends and everything it has to offer. Enjoy. There we go, my friend.
How's it going Henry? Alvaro, good morning. Good evening for the Middle East. How are you?
Very good, very good. Good, thank you. Well, what time is it, Manny? Well, right now it's 10-12.
Okay. A little bit earlier than that over there. Yeah. You're about to get started.
It's our night over there. Of course. Of course. How is everything in Dubai?
Very well, thank you. We had our first world panel, same as the British World Area of the Country globally. Now we come out and things up, cautiously returning back to a level of all of our own days to say. Well, but you're saying quite busy when it comes to real estate, also personal life, you've been able to do quite a amount of wealth.
How is the current situation with real estate in Dubai? Sure. So my mark has picked up certainly huge amounts since the first lockdown. I'm pleased to think so obviously.
As a lot of suppliers, there's actually a lack of supply of ours. So at least that we can manage our clients both ways. That's great, Henry, because I mean, you come all the way from the UK, you work right now for a night front private office and it seems remarkable, everything that is going on over there. So how has it been that transition from the UK all the way to Dubai?
Sure. So I'm going to be with Knight Frank, the group now, coming up to my 10th year at the farm, which I'm pleased to say. I've been in the Middle East now for just over seven years, this is my eight year coming into. So throughout that time, living in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and then traveling throughout the Gulf.
Now that's not just the collegiate goal here, I've perhaps been into Pakistan for climate meetings and into certain parts of Africa as well. Wow. So certainly, yes, not just the region wide is covered from our team here locally. Now the transition was easy enough.
Dubai has a huge thriving growth, MRC at X-Maturate community here. So we're all very warm and welcoming. Well, and you are in a more personal level. So I'm also a dad.
You have quite a new born and you're managing that pretty well. I mean, I see that you have an amazing wife. You've got to travel in some amazing places that I'm actually very jealous and I wrote down to Dubai. So you're kind of like touching base on everything, lifestyle, work.
So you are already really well based in Dubai. Finding the stage from London. Yeah, well, we'll be here for the future of our family. Yes.
My wife and I were blessed with one year ago now. So he is growing up as quickly as I do. He's up and walking around now, which is fantastic. So that's been very exciting and fulfilling past year.
As you mentioned, getting the balance between putting the hours you can do into your work and making sure that's going really well and your family, you have to balance to them. That's very interesting because I have the personal friends that actually moved to Dubai now also with their kids. And the image of Dubai at first was not so much like to build a family, but now it's starting to change a little bit. For those that are currently listening and are planning to either make a transition to somewhere like Dubai and they have a family with kids, what would you say to them?
Certainly, I would say perhaps come and visit Dubai first and learn about the local areas and where perhaps they would like to live as a family. And perhaps they would like a larger apartment or a village to live in. Again, there's lots of options here, look. If they've got kids in their schooling age, they'll have to be able to have fantastic schools.
They'll have to choose the right one for them. And I would suggest that coming over before I have a seeing a few of those schools and learning where to place their children, where they're going to be happy and feel their future. That's what I'm going to learn. I think you're touching something very important in education these days and how the kids can evolve in a safe environment.
And I think Dubai offers it, but sometimes it's better to go visit it's first hand and then make your own decision. So right now I've seen that with the borders. Are there borders being closed open? Because I've seen right now from the US a lot of people are actually going to Dubai.
You just need 48 hours, you know, visa approval or something. What's currently the situation there when it comes to tourism? Sure. We're very fortunate in Dubai and the tourism is still highly personal.
Naturally, within the safety procedures that they are in place, they do a fantastic job keeping a safe environment here. Yes, we are open for tourism and there's lots of tourism at the moment. Recently in the past couple of weeks, a travel corridor between the UK and the UAE has opened up, which means that my friends, family, colleagues, even from the UK are able to travel over here back and forth without the quarantine, by the way, which is fantastic. Great, great, that's great.
And we have a few people that are tuning in today that are asking, you know, how is the shopping, you know, the Y's well known for all the luxuries that you can see around? So when it comes to that specific question, you know, like all the luxurious lifestyle that Dubai has to offer, how has that impacted the way that the economy is booming in Dubai and everybody's transitioning towards Dubai? Sure. This is a huge amount of foreign investment coming into Dubai of our as well continue perhaps forever.
In terms of the luxury of lifestyle, again, our clients, the fine luxury in various ways. So I would say people can come here and find the right lifestyle is suitable for them. That means I make the most of them. So that's a question, you know, that I always ask, because you're right, luxury is all about perspective, everybody, you know, it's a different definition of what luxury is about.
What is it for you? Good question. Luxury perhaps is not something that's that easy to define. Our clients here in the Middle East and also specifically perhaps of our in Dubai are mixed with huge mix of different nationalities and cultures that come with those nationalities as well, and they each define luxury in their own way.
So once I'm working with one client, I'm going to have an opinion in their mind as to what they think is ideal for them and that will certainly have something else as you know. I would say perhaps for our collegiate clients here, having property, whether it's in Miami, Miami, New York, London or elsewhere, it's going to 24-hour court concierge and mortgage, perhaps security as well. There's often the first tick box to get things going. Many of our clients, when they purchase property, but it's something we say is turn to your condition.
So they can come from their country where they might be fine and then effectively bring their street pressure to the other and that apartment is ready to go. Right. No, you define it well. I guess like it's a little bit different for everybody.
I mean, I know for yourself, you are a big fan of running and races and doing some adventures. So having the opportunity to do those things, especially in a time like we're facing right now, it's in other words, a luxury. So we are very fortunate to be able to be in places where we are still open and able to do these things. So that's a blessing and a luxury.
So a few questions in regards to the current situation. Obviously, it's been a tough year for everybody. You know, but everybody has find the way or the unique way to thrive through. And in your case, I guess that a lot of what you said makes sense.
You know, it's different people from different locations coming into the bias of the connections and the relationships are important. So how have you adapted this year and how have you encouraged really those relationships for your advantage? That is a good idea and good question now, Bar. The idea to express that is perhaps locally here in Dubai, we're lucky that we can actually have meetings at the moment, as long as they're socially distance-wide-wise with our clients here on the ground.
Now, previous than now, I've been able to travel to Saudi Arabia, to Bahrain, to Muscat and meet with our clients on the ground and see them perhaps at the course of the day or two and then return back very easily. These days, regional travel is a little bit more, well, less possible. So certainly that's how we've adapted. It's moving in a digital direction as has most industries.
So fabulous. What would you recommend for some other companies out there that are trying to thrive through these difficult times in real-state that they should be doing in their business? Sure. I mean, a couple of things we've taken ourselves.
They would never form, but we may be up to the rate in which we use them. Is the use of digital means marketing property. Now, we can previously take our clients and perhaps travel with them to the UK. They could have a look at this environment and travel back and make a decision whether it's something they would like to discuss further.
These days, that may not be possible for them all. So we use our digital means by making a nice video of property, even perhaps a three-dimensional walkthrough, where you and I could even on a computer screen or phone screen walkthrough property and choose what we want to look at. It's ideal. Now, if we're able to move the right staff and place the bar, perhaps myself or a colleague can even go to the property and we can livestream like you are now now now.
We can livestream inside the property and talk our clients through it. And if they have any questions, please, so now let's have a look again at our second bedroom. How is this getting nice in there? And we can really work on that as if we're a personal viewing with them on a one-on basis.
Great. No, Henry, those are great points. And I believe that right now everybody that is currently in this business, taking advantage of technology and leverage it for next level, it's necessary. You know, right now it's everything evolving so quickly.
So I think that everything that is happening is also pushing a lot of people to get out of their comfort zone and start trying new things and technology is out there for everybody. So what you said is completely right and I encourage everybody to check what Henry is doing because you guys are doing definitely phenomenal in Dubai. Now, Henry, there's a question that's a little bit more personal that a lot of people nowadays they struggle to wake up with a smile or excitement because of so much negativity around us. And it's important to build that circle of positivity and encouragement and excitement.
So what is it for you when you wake up in the morning that keeps you excited? I think perhaps what wakes me up, mind of the way. That's very exciting moment. Thanks to go and reach in.
Besides the keeping and using us, keeping momentum with the team, it's not just an individual thing, it's as a group as a team. We have to keep our users as a drive for business forward. That's good. You need to focus on building the right team, having the right people around you and thrive through together.
That's the only way. No, that's great. Do you have any mentor or have any mentor in the past that you look up to that has helped you? Sure.
Within the walls of 9th Frank, we've been very fortunate that I have many colleagues here who are fantastic to get to know what they do. Whether it's been in London, whether it's in the Middle East or even elsewhere. These are great people we've got to learn from. And as you know, we are all learning every day.
And we can certainly absorb what information we can do and how we can be better at what we do from these people. And I'm blessed that we have a wealth of people across the world to learn from them. So I wouldn't say no across. You're right.
You're right. It's very important to look up for everybody around you and learn from everybody because you can learn so much from every individual. And I'm very fortunate that you guys have an amazing team. Katya in London and also Jack with the real talk to also.
They're all great individuals. And over there in Dubai, there's another friend of mine that I'm sure you know, Chris Boswell. He's also another guy that comes from the UK. So there's obviously a lot of potential and great individuals in this business that we can all learn from each other.
And a lot of people think that this industry as competitive as it might be. It's also an industry where it requires a lot of cooperation and working with everybody. So as you said, learn from everybody and keep growing. Of course, certainly cooperation at this time is of key importance as well.
No, I'm Henry. You're definitely an inspiration for many. I know it's not easy to, you know, try through these difficult times, especially with a newborn. My business partner, he also got a baby recently and sometimes he's like, you know, like, what do I do?
You guys like a new thing. It's your first baby business. Crazy. I really learned.
And we also have a fantastic class. Perhaps the first couple of months you will have a little bit less sleep. No, great. Henry, I really appreciate everything that you've shared today.
I'm definitely going to put in the comments all the information for everybody to follow you and reach out to you for anything they need. You're definitely a great individual, very knowledgeable and a great guy. So anything else that you would like to share? Avora, that's all.
So thank you very much for your time. I have everything to go on my email. I'll talk to you soon. Absolutely.
See you soon in the bio, giving my army. Take care of my friend. We'll definitely have a Martin resplending. Looking forward to it.
Have a good week. And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it. I remember, embrace it's beautiful success in life.
My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time.