Azerbaijan hosted its first international real estate exhibition in Baku this week, drawing developers and investors from across the region as the country pursues large-scale urban expansion and reconstruction.
AIREX 2026 examined the country’s property market and the challenges facing a sector increasingly shaped by technology, sustainability and changing urban needs.
AIREX organiser Riad Salayev said the aim was to attract “more key players from the region” and “more international participants and investors” to the exhibition.
The exhibition comes as Azerbaijan continues to invest in urban development. Baku is undergoing major changes, while reconstruction in Karabakh is creating demand for new homes and public infrastructure.
For new neighbourhoods to work, housing must go hand in hand with schools, healthcare, transport and other essential services.
Chief of Staff of Azerbaijan’s State Housing Development Agency (MIDA) Jamshid Amirov said the agency had launched 20 projects to help citizens buy homes on preferential terms.
“Seven projects are in Baku, three in Karabakh and ten in other regions,” Amirov told Euronews.
The developments also include schools, kindergartens and a medical centre.
Amirov said 11 affordable housing projects have been completed so far, including five in Baku and six in the regions.
“We are currently implementing three additional projects,” he said, with “three more residential complexes in the design phase”.
Elchin Gadimov, Chief Commercial Officer of PASHA Real Estate Group and CEO of International Projects, said his sector was moving towards “capital efficiency, customer experience, international demand and long-term asset value”.
It was becoming “increasingly data-driven, predictive and customer-centric,” he said.
Gadimov explained that with advancements in AI, developers can now use a simple photograph to visualise a proposed project without expensive rendering software or specialised equipment.
What once required “significant time, technical expertise and financial resources” can now be explored “in minutes”, helping teams test ideas earlier.
International architecture practice Chapman Taylor has worked on master-planning projects in Shusha and Jabrayil, as well as districts in Aghdam and Fuzuli. Its work in Fuzuli also includes a hospital and a vocational school.
Chapman Taylor Group Board Director Marcelina Zielinska said that successful urban development required more than designing individual buildings.
Planners must consider “business, the economy, location, climate and community”, Zielinska told Euronews.
Alikhan Aliyev, Director of Kazakhstan-based BI Group in Azerbaijan, also highlighted the importance of residents’ experience.
The company’s priorities, he said, include “architecture, comfort, safety and residents’ quality of life”.
Different markets, changing expectations
The exhibition also offered a glimpse of how developers from other markets view Azerbaijan and the wider region.
Tarik Imam, founder of Kinglike Luxury, which operates in Georgia and Türkiye, described Baku as “an emerging destination for international real estate investment”, pointing to its “visionary developments” and “strong growth potential”.
For Georgian developer Silk Development, the focus was on closer regional ties.
Its Chief Commercial Officer, Lina Buziashvili, said AIREX offered an opportunity to “strengthen regional partnerships” and “connect with investors”.
She also highlighted the potential for partnerships that create “long-term value across the region”.
The Maldives provided a different example of how property development can extend beyond residential construction. Meekail Haleem, Acting Head of the Hospitality Section at the state-owned Housing Development Corporation, presented plans for a cruise terminal and waterfront commercial district in Hulhumalé, as well as the proposed tourism destination Kudagiri Falhu.
The projects are intended to broaden the country’s tourism and commercial offer. Haleem said the aim was to “diversify the Maldives’ tourism and commercial offerings”, with joint ventures and international partnerships helping to bring the developments forward.
Technology reshapes real estate
Digital tools are also changing how residential buildings are managed, from resident services to the systems that keep buildings operating.
At Sea Breeze in Azerbaijan, Digital Residence is developing a model that combines AI-powered services with intelligent building management.
Its CEO and co-founder, Denys Rudnyk, said the next step was IT Hub Sea Breeze, which aims to attract international technology companies, start-ups and digital entrepreneurs.
He also pointed to government incentives, including “20-year tax exemptions for eligible technology park residents”, as a factor supporting the sector’s development.
AIREX provided an opportunity to examine different approaches to property development, from affordable housing and urban planning to digital services and tourism infrastructure.
For Azerbaijan, the task ahead is to turn investment into places that serve the people who live there, including providing homes, services, transport and public spaces that make neighbourhoods work.