Cross-border capital connectors reshaping GCC real estate's $141 billion market

A $141 billion market draws a new class of intermediary

The GCC real estate market reached USD 141.2 billion in 2025, according to IMARC Group, and is projected to grow to USD 260.3 billion by 2034 at a compound annual growth rate of 7.03%. Behind these figures lies a structural shift in how capital reaches the region. Cross-border investment managers, many of them founders of specialist platforms in emerging markets far from the Gulf, are building deal pipelines that connect institutional pools in Latin America, South Asia, and North America with the Gulf's most active asset classes.

Two profiles illustrate the trend. Daniel Grunberg, Founder and Managing Partner of TC Latin America Partners, an institutional real estate investment manager focusing on emerging markets, represents a corridor that links Latin American and US capital to global opportunity sets. Avyay Jhunjhunwala, Founder and Managing Director of Enzo Developments in Dubai, brings over 20 years of real estate experience and a portfolio exceeding 3 million square feet delivered in India to the emirate's luxury segment. Their trajectories reflect a broader pattern: capital connectors with deep operational histories in one geography are now treating the GCC as a primary destination.

Who is Daniel Grunberg and why does his profile matter for GCC capital flows?

Daniel Grunberg founded TC Latin America Partners to manage institutional real estate capital across emerging markets, according to GRI Institute records. The firm's investment thesis centres on deploying disciplined, institutional-grade strategies in geographies where pricing inefficiencies persist and demographic tailwinds support long-term returns.

While TC Latin America Partners' documented focus has historically been on Latin American and US markets, the firm's positioning as an emerging-market specialist places it within a cohort of managers increasingly evaluating GCC opportunities. The Gulf's regulatory liberalisation, particularly Saudi Arabia's forthcoming Foreign Ownership of Real Estate Law that allows non-Saudis to buy and invest in property across the Kingdom to support the Vision 2030 pipeline, is widening the universe of international buyers and developers. This legislative change, due to take effect in 2026, creates a structural opening for cross-border allocators seeking to deploy capital in previously restricted markets.

Grunberg's profile matters because institutional intermediaries with proven track records in one emerging-market region carry transferable skillsets, including currency risk management, joint-venture structuring, and regulatory navigation, that are directly applicable to GCC transactions. The Gulf's dealmaking ecosystem, as observed at GRI Institute gatherings and senior industry forums, increasingly values operators who can bridge geographies rather than those anchored to a single corridor.

The cross-border capital connector is becoming a critical node in the GCC's investment architecture. These professionals do not simply source capital; they translate institutional expectations across cultural, legal, and financial frameworks.

How is Avyay Jhunjhunwala expanding India-to-Dubai capital corridors?

Avyay Jhunjhunwala represents a different but complementary corridor. As Founder and Managing Director of Enzo Developments, he leverages two decades of real estate experience and a delivery track record exceeding 3 million square feet in India, according to company disclosures. His entry into Dubai's development market coincides with an extraordinary expansion in the emirate's branded residences segment.

During the first nine months of 2025, Dubai's branded residences recorded a 26% year-over-year surge in transaction volumes, with over 7,700 units sold, according to CBRE. The total sales value reached almost AED 50 billion, equivalent to approximately US$13.6 billion, over the same period. These figures position Dubai as the global epicentre for branded residential transactions, a status reinforced by a pipeline of over 31,300 units across 110 projects scheduled for delivery between 2025 and 2030, also according to CBRE data.

Jhunjhunwala's profile is emblematic of an Indian-origin operator class that is channelling both development expertise and buyer networks from the subcontinent into Dubai's luxury market. Indian nationals consistently rank among the top foreign property buyers in Dubai, and developers with credibility in both markets carry a distinct competitive advantage in originating and distributing inventory.

The India-to-Dubai corridor is one of the most active cross-border real estate channels globally. Developers who can originate product in Dubai while activating distribution networks across Indian metropolitan centres occupy a structurally advantaged position.

Branded residences: the asset class anchoring cross-border activity

The branded residences segment serves as the primary landing zone for much of the cross-border capital entering the GCC. Savills reported a 187% growth in the Middle East and North Africa branded residences market over the past five years, a surge largely fuelled by Dubai and other Gulf markets. Globally, the segment is expected to reach 1,747 developments by 2032, expanding into 25 new countries, according to Savills projections.

Several factors explain why branded residences attract cross-border capital connectors:

Standardised quality benchmarks. International hotel and lifestyle brands provide a quality assurance framework that reduces due diligence friction for foreign investors unfamiliar with local construction standards.

Premium pricing power. Branded units command significant premiums over comparable unbranded inventory, improving project-level economics and allowing developers to attract equity partners at favourable terms.

Global distribution networks. Brand operators maintain sales and marketing infrastructure across multiple continents, enabling developers to access buyer pools in Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and beyond without building proprietary distribution from scratch.

Regulatory alignment. Gulf governments, particularly in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, have actively encouraged branded development as a mechanism to attract foreign direct investment and diversify their economies beyond hydrocarbons.

The convergence of these factors creates a structural opportunity for intermediaries who can connect institutional capital with branded development platforms. Cross-border capital connectors serve as the translators between international allocators seeking yield and Gulf developers seeking equity.

Saudi Arabia's regulatory opening amplifies the opportunity

Saudi Arabia's new Foreign Ownership of Real Estate Law, due to take effect in 2026, marks a significant inflection point. By permitting non-Saudis to purchase and invest in property across the Kingdom, the legislation directly supports the Vision 2030 project pipeline and substantially widens the addressable market for international capital.

For cross-border intermediaries, Saudi Arabia's opening represents a greenfield opportunity. Unlike Dubai, where foreign ownership frameworks have been established for over two decades, the Kingdom is creating a new competitive landscape where early movers with existing institutional relationships and emerging-market expertise will hold significant advantages.

The combination of massive infrastructure spending, population growth targets for key cities, and a regulatory framework designed to welcome foreign capital creates conditions that favour precisely the type of intermediary represented by professionals like Grunberg and Jhunjhunwala: operators with institutional credibility, cross-border networks, and experience navigating complex emerging-market regulatory environments.

What defines the next generation of GCC dealmakers?

Senior industry leaders who convene through platforms such as GRI Institute have identified a clear evolution in the profile of professionals driving GCC real estate transactions. The next generation of capital connectors shares several defining characteristics.

First, they are founders. Unlike earlier generations of dealmakers who operated within large banking or advisory institutions, today's cross-border connectors tend to build proprietary platforms. Grunberg's TC Latin America Partners and Jhunjhunwala's Enzo Developments exemplify this entrepreneurial orientation.

Second, they are geographically fluid. Their deal origination spans multiple continents, and they treat the GCC as one node within a global allocation strategy rather than as an isolated market.

Third, they possess operational depth. These professionals do not merely broker introductions. They bring delivery track records, whether measured in square footage developed, capital deployed, or projects completed, that establish credibility with both institutional allocators and local partners.

The GCC real estate market's projected trajectory toward USD 260.3 billion by 2034, according to IMARC Group, ensures that demand for sophisticated cross-border intermediation will only intensify. As Gulf governments continue to liberalise foreign ownership rules and expand branded development pipelines, the capital connectors who can bridge institutional expectations with local execution capabilities will define the region's next investment cycle.

GRI Institute continues to track the professionals and capital corridors shaping this evolution, providing its members with direct access to the decision-makers building the GCC's cross-border deal architecture.