Dubai Property Sale

The Dubai Property Market has never been stronger than it is at this moment and
foreign investors are flocking to the shores of the emirate to take advantage of the
real estate boom. Rapid development has characterised the cities and sandy beaches
or desserts have been forced to give way to skyscrapers,artificial lakes and
massive retail spaces. What’s more,the local government encourages this growth by
maintaining a no personal,sales or corporate taxes policy. Such steps have had a
tremendous impact on foreign investment and have allowed for a number of
mega-projects to be staged in this glorious city. What’s more,Dubai’s rapid
development has not resulted in city slums,poor building and a strained
infrastructure. The economy has benefited in ways never before imagined from such
mass investing and the standards of living here are higher than in most other parts
of the world. It is facts like these - combined with the striking beauty of the
ever-expanding facade of the city - that has earned the city the nickname Pearl of
the Gulf.

In a geographical region with a reputation for political instability,Dubai has
separated itself from issues that affect surrounding emirates and has instead
established itself as a holiday home haven,a regional hub for finance and trade,a
notable tourism destination and even a centre for technology. All these factors
continue to influence the ever-growing property market and as a result,the market
is set to continue to blossom for at least the next decade. What’s more,the
government has recognized the positive impact of foreign investment on the local
market and are taking steps to abolish protective property laws so that this
investment can continue to take place with less hassle. While certain aspects of
property ownership and residency rights for foreign investors still need to be
firmly established,the liberal attitude towards property laws in Dubai not only
encourage investment but,in some cases,serve to be most profitable for the
investors.

The immense growth and rate of investment can perhaps be best seen in several of the
mega-projects which have put Dubai on the architectural map. These include The World
Dubai,the Palm Jumeirah,the Dubai Marina and a number of Arabian Ranches. The
World is an impressive cluster of some 300 private,man-made islands. The islands
are shaped into the various continents of the world and are surrounded by a
breakwater. The total collection of islands covers an area of roughly 9 kilometers
in length and 6 kilometers in width. Reachable only by marine or air transport,the
World offers an opportunity for investors to own their own little island picturesque
and private. Investors are already clamouring to gain their hands on one of these
islands even though the project is not yet complete.

The Palm Jumeirah is similar in that it is an artificial landmass that stretches out
into the sea. It is shaped like a palm tree and is one of a set of three
mega-projects which line the coast of the city. Unlike The World,the Palm Jumeirah
serves as an island resort â not a residential area. The other two islands are
under construction and will be completed soon. The Dubai Marina is also entirely
man-made and is set to become the largest man-made marina in the world. The Marina
has been created as a sort of city in a city where people can all the exclusive
comforts of living in a world-class city. Upon completion it will have more than 200
high-rise buildings and cover an area of 50 million square feet. If the idea of
living on the shores of this mega city does not appeal to you,then you may wish to
turn your attention inland. The Arabian Ranches are set in the midst of a
fast-changing dessert,just a few minutes outside of Dubai. A great place to relax
and get away from the pace of the city,the Arabian Ranches feature an impressive
golf club,an equestrian centre,a polo club,a village centre and an
English-speaking school â to mention just a few.

As foreign and local investors continue to empower developers in this fast-changing
country,Dubai continues to maintain its place as a property haven. Desserts are
being converted to oases and sandy dunes to mega resort complexes or sparkling
marinas. Dubai is truly a testament to the ingenuity of man and the desire to see
ourselves living in a picture-perfect world. Get your little piece of paradise now
by investing in the Dubai property market

Dubai Property Rental Boom

With the growing population of Dubai increasing daily with new businesses starting,finding that home in Dubai has become extremely difficult. With currently around 3000 Dubai properties under construction including many super towers,many companies are finding problems obtaining reasonably priced Dubai properties for people to live in with certain areas of Jumeriah and Dubai Marina being the only places available to rent now. Recently my company was quoted ,000 for a year’s rent for a 3 bed property for an ordinary guy with a wife and 2 kids,looking to start at new life in Dubai. Many Landlords who got on the property ladder at the beginning of the property boom in Dubai are making fortunes with the rent of the properties that are now ready for occupation.

With new development calls for the office and commercial space this is certainly no exception,likewise rental prices have risen significantly for completed offices and often a bidding war taking place. New commercial releases are being snapped up even though they are overpriced by many investors looking to cash in from this shortage of rental properties.

The cheaper alternative is Ajman,a neighboring emirate. Properties can be found quoting a 25 minute journey time into Dubai,sounds like a great option but with construction traffic and employees commuting to work the road is gridlocked from 5am through to 11.00 am .It is hoped by the locals that the new Metro tram system which comes into operation in 2009 will take some of the traffic off the road,until then if you want rental property be quick because it is certainly a first come first served basis.

Dubai Property Options

iPod style development - New development authority of Dubai has decided to build a structure that resembles an iPod Mp3 player. Known by the name of “The Pad Dubai”,this building is located in Dubai Business Bay.

Omniyat properties of Dubai presented a model of this project,which has 230 apartments,at Dubai’s International Property Show which was held from 3rd to 5th of April,2007. These apartments will acquire Almasa Holdings which is a brand name in IT and Real Estate Markets,and is the parent name of Omniyat Properties. Authorities had decided that this building would include lofts,one and two- bedroom apartments and studio apartments. This is a 9 million AED property project and the minimum area available to the buyer is 581 sq.feet. According to property realtors in Dubai,1 bed room set in these apartment will cost 362,372 US dollars,2 bed room apartments will cost 901,158 US dollars,whereas studios will cost about 343,688 US dollars. Recently,similar 2 bedroom apartments in the Business Bay Area were sold for 550,000 US dollars by the Corporate Finance House.

Features of The Pad:

• The living rooms and dining rooms will be rotating 360 degrees so that one can admire the beauty of nearby water front and landscapes.

• Beautiful sights of the outer world can be enjoyed from the windows.

• Facility of video conferencing in the dining rooms.

• Lighting will adjust according to your mood and will respond to your telephone calls as well.

• Modern equipments provided for a healthy living.

The ultra modern style of room rotation is derived from Luigi Colani of Germany. In recent years,this method has been developed for aesthetic reasons rather than as a space saving device. The developer has planned to use rotating double beds in all apartments and make use of robotic features for robot vacuum cleaning.

There are many facilities listed for its residents which include parking spaces,retail areas,under water concert,Jacuzzi,aerobics section,basket ball court,etc.

Rotating tower for the first time in Dubai Property Market

For the first time in the history of Dubai real estate,rotating towers which resemble high skyscrapers have been introduced by the Dubai Property Ring. World Real Estate authority of Dubai had granted UK based developers to build 30 story rotating apartments. These apartments will require the power of 20 electric motors to rotate 360 degree in a week’s time. Nick Cooper,a British engineer working with MG Bennet and Associate of Rotherham,has been employed for the project.

Mr. Cooper was involved with drilling tunnels between London and Paris that allowed a free passage of Eurostar trains under the English Channel. In 1966,a part of London’s post office tower which was a restaurant,was made rotating. The idea of complete rotation of a building on its axis was really a novel one at that time. The British technology of rotation is being used after half a century on Arabic land. The rotating tower under construction in Dubai has a crescent moon lounge at its top. The future residents of this building can admire the scenic beauty of 23 rotating buildings which are to be built in future by Dubai Property Ring.

Dubai Property Market

Many investors,potential investors and casual observers seem to still have doubts about the safety of purchasing property in Dubai,even as the property market continues to expand through its fifth year. At the same time,the latest Cityscape Dubai event (4-6 December),which showcased both future and current projects,was once again a testament to the unprecedented scale of activity and level of enthusiasm in the industry. It was without a doubt a grand display of where the property markets in Dubai and the Gulf are and to where they aim to go.

Beyond the glitz and hype,however,the fundamental questions for investors remain:

* Will property on offer in fact make it to completion even once construction has commenced?

* Will the quality standards promised be achieved?

* Will delays plague the project?

…and not least,

* Will one’s investment be guaranteed,at least up to the time of hand-over,and beyond?

The Dubai Marina site of Damac’s Ocean Heights tower (8-Dec-06),launched in Oct. 2004. Originally slated for completion in 2007,now estimated by some for a 2009-10 completion.

The short answer to these questions is that results will vary by project and developer. The broader picture,as it were,is hard to comment upon with the relatively limited number of properties that have made it to completion and,even more so,with the limited amount of scrutiny paid by both the media and the government to problems and issues that have come up.

That being said,anecdotal evidence is available. One source is the Gulf News’ archives along with those of other local publications,where search queries can pull up news,good and bad,on both specific properties and the industry-at-large. The online forums of Skyscrapercity.com also offer a wealth of insight into the the real goings on in the property scene-it requires considerable sifting to get through the innumerable exchanges among forumers.

My own take is based on a personal,albeit perhaps biased,scrutiny over the year and a half that I have taken steps as an investor. The skinny,as I see it,is as follows:

* Emaar,among the large developers,shines. Its projects get built in a timely fashion and are of both satisfactory design and quality. This record may placate some of those who balk at higher purchase costs. While there have been complaints about build quality,there seems to have been no real disasters. By contrast,however,property management fees seem exhorbitant compared to other properties and what one gets for them.

* Nakheel has a mixed record,including a disaster or two,and it has in some measure yet to prove itself. The verdict on Nakheel should remain pending until handover of its Jumeirah Palm properties over the next half-year,should that highly-anticipated move in fact take place.

* The other large developers,including Dubai Properties,Sama Dubai,Damac and others,have yet to prove themselves,even more so than Nakheel. For most,significant delays appear to be the order of the day. Reassuringly,however,if the record of Dubai Properties,builder of the 40-tower Jumeirah Beach Residences complex,is anything to go by,then ambitious projects can and will be delivered,even if late.

* The mid- to small-size developers are a harder lot to classify,not only due to the fact that they are many in number,but many of their projects are yet in the early phases of build or development. There is,for example,Tameer with a 107-story tower and a 91-story tower under development in Dubai Marina,in addition to several other major projects on the drawing board. This perhaps wannabe major developer has no existing record of delivered or even half-constructed projects to evaluate.

Although Dubai Marina is a master-planned project of Emaar and contains a number of Emaar properties,it is in large part being built-up by mid- to small-size developers. This means that to really evaluate the merits of the development-at-large or any specific project,the reputation and record of the specific developer in question needs to be examined. The one generalization that one might make,however,is that excluding the JBR project,fewer than half of the Marina towers have yet been built with most of the largest ones not yet started or in the early stages of construction.

The big picture must take into account some of the dynamics of the Dubai and larger Gulf real estate and construction industries,which substantially impact the success or lack of success in each project. These dynamics include,

* a large unskilled,poorly trained and poorly paid construction workforce,

* intense competition for skilled and experienced managers,consultants,contractors and the like,and similarly

* tight supply of equipment and materials.

Added up,it is hard and will continue to be hard to get things right. The powerful,like Emaar,will have more leverage but likewise they will be less accountable to any individual client. The smaller players will struggle to get what they need to pull the job off,but it is more essential to their survival that they do,even on the smaller jobs.That being said enough work has been carried out over the past 5 years that the industry has begun to enter a middle stage where there is a significant level of expertise locally. Even the underpaid,overworked laborers in time pick up a considerable amount of skills on the job. As this happens,getting the job right increasingly becomes an attainable goal.

A look specifically at the ongoing projects in the Upper Marina or tallest block will follow,to shed some light on the individual projects there.

Dubai Property Market Prospects

Introduction: Dubai has been one of the biggest success stories in the overseas property industry. The growth in the market,which in the first 11 months of 2007 was reported to be 18.7 per cent in both villas and apartments,has sustained at a high rate for some years now,prompting some investors to buy sight unseen. Commentators are split as to whether this growth can be sustained,but investment in the real estate sector is predicted to provide 35 per cent of Dubai’s GDP over the next five years.

Supply & Demand: One of the biggest contributory factors in the growth of the Dubai property market has been the fact that demand has always managed to outstrip supply. The regular shortfalls in supply are often due to late-running projects and the immense speed of the influx of new workers and residents who all need somewhere to live.

Investment bank EFG-Hermes has reported that the market will be subjected to its biggest shortfall in supply in the second half of 2008,which means prices will hit a peak of sorts this year. After that,the report suggests,the market will begin to swing in the favour of buyers. It says there will be 64,000 units to come onto the market as available for occupation in 2008,and a further 68,000 in 2009.

Tourism: Tourism is the most important industry for the future of Dubai and is also its fastest-growing industry,with over 11 per cent of the GDP coming from holidaymakers,and generating .9 billion of economic activity. The introduction of huge new attractions will fuel the growth in tourist numbers,who will be serviced by the huge new Dubai International Airport.

On the other hand,the number of hotel rooms in the Emirate is set to rise by around 33 per cent per year until 2011,which has led industry watchers to suggest that hotel occupancy rates may fall as low as 60 per cent,compared to the current levels of more than 80 per cent.

Immigration: The lenient tax regime in Dubai has been one of the major attractions for property investors and a large number of businesses,many of which are multinational companies,and some of which have made their headquarters in Dubai. The investment banking sector is predicted to undergo huge growth in Dubai in 2008,adding to the internet and media hubs in the city. This brings with it an influx of people with large salaries who are looking for somewhere to live,and should also employ a proportion of the local population in well-paid positions.

Rentals: Letting property will be one of the most important parts of the future for the Dubai property market. Since November 2005,there has been a government-imposed rental cap at seven per cent of the property value in order to protect the tenant market from potentially astronomical rises in rental costs due to the gap between supply and demand. This cap is currently not due to be renewed at the end of this year,allowing landlords a completely free market. This will push many locals in Dubai to consider buying their own property instead of renting to protect themselves from the potential rises.

The real estate market in Dubai has had its detractors for some time now,people who seem to be keen to see the property buying boom there come crashing to a halt. However,Dubai keeps on fighting back,sticking resolutely to its free,tax-efficient methods. The result has been a highly modern centre of business excellence,leisure activities and innovative development.