Dubai To Get 28,000 New Units This Year

A new report by EFG-Hermes report says 28,000 units will be delivered in Dubai this year, as against an expected 33,000 units handed over in 2008. The assumptions on the supply numbers are largely based on units that have been sold in the previous years and are likely to come on the market as they get delivered, and expecting 'little or no new inventory will be released for sale during 2009'. T ... more

Dubai Property Prices Plunge Up To 70% May Recover By 2011

Freehold property prices in Dubai have plunged by as much as 70 per cent since March of last year but are poised to bottom out in another six months, real estate brokers said on Sunday. Dubai’s once-booming property sector will see its ongoing sharp correction continue until the start of this year’s fourth quarter. Prices will remain flat through 2010 but show signs of recovery by 2011, these b ... more

Tamweel Calls For More Property Support

Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed, chairman of Tamweel, the UAE's home finance provider, has said that the government must provide liquidity in the real estate sector to limit the drop in property prices and help the economy get through the downturn. 'Unless we bring in financing for the real estate sector, I do not think the economy can be revived,' he told the National.

The Residences International City

Regional Real Estate Society Mooted

Plans for a Middle East Real Estate Society (Meres) are underway, according to senior officials at Dubai Land Department. Real estate community groups, comprising developers, investors, brokers and valuers are also expected to join forces with their GCC counterparts to create a region-wide entity. A property regulatory authority that spans the entire region is likely to have positive economic c ... more

Aristocrat Star Awards Dhs600m Contract

Aristocrat Star Investments has announced that it has awarded a Dhs600m contract for its 'Royal Estates' project to Thailand-based Power Line Gulf Construction. The 3,600,000 sq. ft. project Dubai Investments Park consists of commercial, residential, and retail properties as well as a 5-star hotel.

Developers Laud Plan For Federal Regulator

The UAE government's latest plan to set up a federal real estate regulatory authority to co-ordinate efforts of existing local regulatory bodies has been welcomed by developers and property analysts. Federal real estate regulation is likely to make things clearer than having different rules and regulations for the seven emirates. The Dubai Land Department declined to comment until further detai ... more

UAE Mulls Federal Authority To Monitor Developers

The UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs said the government is considering a plan to create a federal authority to regulate developers throughout the country. Obaid Humaid Al Tayer was quoted by Gulf News as saying, 'there are local real estate regulatory authorities and the government considers assuming a role at the federal level and coordinate between these authorities'. The proposal ... more

UAE Ministry Inks Dhs30m Deals

Contracts worth Dhs29.7m have been signed by the UAE Ministry of Public Works. The deals are for the provision of maintenance works for government buildings, mosques and residential zones in the emirates of Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

Deyaar Will Cut Unit Prices As Part Of 2009 Strategy

Deyaar Development yesterday said it will reduce unit prices for customers as well as offer cash back and transfer options on projects as part of its business strategy for 2009. The key motivation behind the strategy is to avoid the risk of defaults on payments as far as possible, although chief executive Markus Giebel recognised that defaults will happen. In these difficult times, you cannot h ... more

Damac To Ink Dhs2bn Deals

Damac Properties said it plans to sign contracts worth Dhs2bn ($545m) this year for the construction of 10 new towers despite the economi downturn. Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Damac Holding, the parent company of Damac Properties, told Gulf News that the current low construction costs and overheads provide opportunities for developers.

Employees In Tight Corner After Bribery Incident.

Two employees of real estate developer Nakheel stood trial on Sunday in the Criminal Court of First Instance for allegedly accepting bribes in return for carrying out their duties. The next hearing has been scheduled for March 29. A 28-year-old Egyptian salesman and a 32-year-old Emirati sales general manager at Nakheel are accused of overcharging a company for the purchase of a piece of land a ... more

Dubai Realty Could See Natural Culling This Year

Some projects in Dubai are likely to "physically disappear" in 2009 as the emirate witnesses a flight to quality among investors, industry experts said on Monday. Developers did not do adequate market research and did not factor in who they were building the projects for. This resulted in a plethora of "very, very silly projects", many of which now face extinction, Christopher Sims, chief opera ... more

Aldar Becomes Member Of Build Safe UAE

Aldar Properties is the first master developer in Abu Dhabi to formally become a full signatory member of Build Safe UAE. Build Safe UAE is a non-profit organization aimed at improving the health, safety and welfare conditions of all construction industry stakeholders through the free exchange and sharing of information between organizations working in the UAE.

Community Areas More Popular In Dubai

Property experts have been seeing a shift towards rentals and buying in community development areas, such as Discovery Gardens and Dubai Marina over the last two months. It seems community-style developments such as Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai Marina and Discovery Gardens are becoming more popular among tenants and buyers. With many people looking to relocate to Dubai from Abu Dhabi, due to ... more

Dubai House Prices To Fall 37.5pc This Year: Poll

Dubai house prices are likely to slump 37.5 per cent on average this year, with real estate units still under construction losing half their value as the former boomtown suffers an economic downturn, a Reuters poll showed on Sunday. Residential real estate prices in Dubai are unlikely to recover before 2011, according to the median forecast of 10 analysts at banks, investment firms and researc ... more

Deyaar Not In Merger Talks

Property developer Deyaar Development is not in merger talks with any company, its chief executive officer said on Wednesday. If it makes sense to merge, we will look into it. But first it has to make sense to the shareholders, and to the country, said Markus Giebel. Deyaar was earlier rumoured to be in discussions with Union Properties for a merger as the boom in Dubai’s property sector came ... more

Property Prices Need To Fall To Mid-Income

Mortgages will become much easier to obtain in Dubai when property prices fall to mid-income levels, a panel of financial experts said Wednesday. Unsurprisingly, there have been far fewer applications from potential buyers for mortgages in recent weeks and months. Property prices are now falling across Dubai, opening up channels of hope for those who had previously been outpriced, but heavy mor ... more

Abu Dhabi Approves Urban Planning Projects

The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council has approved three master plans for the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The Capital District Concept Plan, Khalifa B Master Plan, and Shahama and Bahia Revitalisation Plan will be unveiled at the 2009 edition of Cityscape Abu Dhabi. The 4,500-hectare Capital District Concept Plan will serve as a second government and economic centre in the capital and would eventually ... more

Wasl To Add Units To Residential Leasing Portfolio

Al Barari Project Will Offer 500 More Units

Officials from the Al Barari residential development in Dubai said they will build 500 apartments during the second phase of the project, reported Gulf News. The apartments will range in size from 2,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet and prices will start from $1.3m, going all the way up to $5m.

Top Abu Dhabi Projects Valued At $208bn

Research company Proleads has said that the top ten civil projects currently underway or planned in Abu Dhabi have a combined value of $208bn. These include the $40bn Khalifa City project, the $39bn Yas Island developments and the 428bn Saadiyat Island masterplan.

Landmark Creates New Management Division

Landmark Properties on Sunday announced the creation of a new property management division in order to hone their business towards addressing customer needs. The move is intended to make Landmark Properties a go-between between landlords and tenants, to facilitate all communication relating to the management and leasing of a property. Our clients approached us requesting this service as they ei ... more

Developer Sees Property Market Rebound

Memon Investments, a Dubai-based property developer, forecasts that the UAE’s stricken real estate market will start to recover within the next eight to 12 months. The key factor in Memon’s projection is the federal government’s $20 billion bond programme, which Memon Investments Managing Director Ahmed Shaikhani called “a tremendous development” that will make funds available to cash-strapped ... more

Dubai Land Transactions Total Dh3.9B

The total value of land transactions in Dubai last week reached Dh3.09 billion, of which sales exceeded Dh1.90 billion. The total value of mortgages during the period was Dh1.19 billion, according to the Land Department. A total of 50 sale transactions were registered with the Department by the end of the week, the most valuable of which was a plot in Trade Centre-2 that was sold for Dh600 mill ... more

Emaar May Shelve Projects Worth More Than Dh90b

Emaar Properties may shelve projects worth more than Dh90 billion as worried investors step up pressure on the Middle East’s biggest property developer to halt projects in the face of collapsing prices. The Emaar Investor Group, made up of approximately 200 individual buyers, last week delivered a petition to the developer requesting the cancellation or postponement of the Warsan Estate, Asmara ... more

Obey The Law Or Face Action, Property Developers Told

With Union Properties continuing to demand hiked maintenance fees from home owners despite a freeze on increases by regulators, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) on Wednesday said that property developers needed to be compliant with the law or face action. We are currently speaking with them on how to be compliant with the law on owners’ associations. They have to be compliant or else ... more

Dubai Property Market May Be Bottoming Out

Brokers in Dubai say there are signs that property prices may be bottoming out in the emirate, reported The National. They cite an increase in transactions in February as evidence that buyers are returning to the market. Liz O'Connor, director of residential sales and leasing at Better Homes, said its transactions rose by 15% in February 2009 compared to January 2009. Iseeb Rehman, Managing dir ... more

UAE Real Estate Industry Primed For Strong Comeback - Executives

Senior real estate and construction executives from across the Gulf believe that once the UAE real estate industry gets past short-term adjustments, it will adopt effective policies that will help it emerge stronger than it was before. Executives attending Abu Dhabi Economic Forum said there would be pain experienced, with many over-leveraged buyers unable to make their payments. They added tha ... more

UAE Developer Cuts Prices By Up To 30%

Mada'in Properties said today that it is reducing the price of its properties by as much as 30% due to current market conditions. Existing customers of Mada'in Properties will receive revised contracts with the purchase price of their properties discounted up to 30% and will have their remaining payments rescheduled, the developer said. 'We have studied the market conditions and have formulated ... more

Dubai Properties To Hand Over Al Waha Villas

Dubai Properties has said that it will hand over all 260 villas in the Dhs735m Al Waha development in Dubailand. The group will concurrently offer for lease 414 villas and 144 apartments in the '558 Community' development, also in Dubai Land.

Union Properties To Post Q1 Profits

Union Properties expects to make a profit in the first quarter of 2009 mainly on gains from rental properties and expects 2009 profit to exceed that of last year. Full year net profit would rise as the developer hands over properties sold in previous years and books remaining revenues from those sales.

Emaar 'To Face Up To New Realities'

Emaar Properties on Sunday said its total shareholders' funds at the end of 2008 amounted to Dh36 billion, slightly below Dh36.53 billion in 2007. The transfer of statutory reserve has been suspended as the reserve has reached 50 per cent of the paid up capital, its board of directors said in a financial report posted on the Dubai Financial Market website. In view of the current financial and e ... more