You can contact some local property managers and get a better idea of the rental market.

I started a new post asking people's thoughts about insurance costs in your local area and specifically costs to rebuild and other challenges:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/95/topics/1227051-insur...

I am thinking there will be some decent deals during the expo and there will likely be more events to draw people to Dubai in the future but I will be interested to see what the market does after the expo.

I understand the one time event thing but I foresee potential issues with each applicant because of what's happened to them in the past year. 

Welcome Maxine. best of luck on your journey, if i can help in anyway would love to connect. go to as many networking events and mingle. as well as learn here on this awesome forum. the best way to learn would always be taking action.

I am considering getting into this space (looking at some courses), but worried that its too late, and that deep local market knowledge/understanding of buyers/connection with developers etc is required to make this work, which only incumbent/long term investors will have and would be hard for a new entrant starting from scratch to catch-up...is my hypothesis valid in your opinion ?

Serious consequences when dealing with foreclosures, both local and federal. 

I would recommend looking for local FB investor groups, most areas have them!

Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area.

If you're a landlord, then you'll want to educate yourself on the local laws.