A subdued Cityscape real-estate exhibition started here Monday amid concerns about a glut of housing that is hampering the emirate's recovery from the bursting of its property bubble two years ago.

The annual trade show, which runs from Monday to Thursday, is an important gauge of sentiment in Dubai's once-booming property sector, which saw prices plunge by as much as 50% since 2008, when the global financial crisis dried up funding, forced projects to be put on hold and brought an end to a six-year real-estate and construction boom in the emirate.