Bayut.com News Section

Dubai Developer To Deliver Four Projects In 2012

Thursday, February 09, 2012 03:26:26 AM

Dubai-based developer, Deyaar has unveiled plans to deliver four major projects this year, including three towers in Business Bay, Gulf News has reported. The projects, which include Fifty One @ Business Bay, the Burlington, Oxford Tower, which are all commercial properties located in Business Ba, and Oakwood Residency, a residential property located in the International Media Production Zone. Fifty One @ Business Bay will be the first to come online in February, followed by Oakwood Residency in March. The last two commercial projects will be delivered in the second half of this year. The projects will deliver a total of 1,080 residential and commercial units, said Deyaar.

UAE Firms Land Dhs350m In Abu Dhabi Construction Contracts

Thursday, February 09, 2012 03:23:03 AM

The government of Abu Dhabi has awarded more than Dhs350m ($95.2m) in construction contracts to local firms, The National has reported. The announcements follow last week's decision by the Executive Council to fund millions of dirhams in projects, after a lengthy review of Abu Dhabi's building programme. Target Engineering, a subsidiary of Dubai construction company Arabtec, won Dhs256m worth of deals in Abu Dhabi, while Drake and Scull International also said it has been awarded a Dhs127m deal for mechanical, electrical and plumbing work on an "iconic government facility," which it declined to name.

Abu Dhabi Attempted Aldar Sale, Falling Asset Value

Thursday, February 09, 2012 03:19:32 AM

The Abu Dhabi government has held talks to sell all or part of a 49% government stake in Aldar Properties in an attempt to stop its falling asset value from dragging down state investment fund Mubadala, Reuters has reported, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the discussions. The recent discussions revolved around shifting the Aldar stake to an Abu Dhabi-based bank through a swap deal, the sources said, declining to say whether the talks were still ongoing or had stalled. Mubadala, which made a loss in 2010 and in the first 2011, would provide an equity bridge loan to the bank for taking up the assets, said one of the sources. A spokesman at Mubadala denied that such discussions had taken place.

UAE Housing Market To Sink Further, Analysts Point To Oversupply

Thursday, February 09, 2012 03:17:13 AM

Analysts have said the four-year decline in house prices in the UAE isn't expected to end in 2012, as oversupply and concerns over the health of global economy weigh on the market, Reuters has reported. Growth in the second largest Arab economy is expected to slow this year to 3.1%, which will not help Dubai's property prices to recover after plunging by two-thirds from their 2008 peak. Prices in the emirate will ultimately ease another 8%, while neighbouring Abu Dhabi, which is now showing signs of pressure, will see housing prices fall by as much as 11% this year. "Macro-economic concerns compounded with an ongoing supply-demand mismatch will further delay the recovery of the UAE property market," said Patrick Rahal, manager at Doha-based investment company The First Investor.

Dubai Developer Turns Loss To Profit

Thursday, February 09, 2012 03:15:27 AM

Dubai's second largest developer by market value, Deyaar Development has swung to a small profit in 2011 of Dhs37.7m ($10.3m), compared with a net loss of Dhs2.87bn in the previous year, Reuters has reported. The developer also posted a Dhs7.3m net loss in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with a net loss of Dhs1.77bn during prior-year period. "The company will continue with its focus on completing the projects in the pipeline, growing the existing sources of sustainable income and exploring new business opportunities," said Deyaar's chief executive, Saeed Al Qatami.

270 New Homes For Dubai's Jumeirah

Thursday, February 09, 2012 03:12:51 AM

Dubai Real Estate Corp (DREC) has announced 270 new housing units of its Wasl Square project in Jumeirah are to be available for leasing soon, Emirates 24-7 has reported. The project, which will be released in phases, will have 140 apartments and 130 townhouses, comprising 26 one-bedroom apartments, 114 two-bedroom apartments, 14 three-bedroom townhouses and 116 four-bedroom townhouses. The expected completion date is the beginning of 2012, said the company brochure.

Abu Dhabi Municipality Launches Electronic Land Survey Tool

Thursday, February 09, 2012 03:10:09 AM

The municipality of Abu Dhabi City has launched a new service designed to provide individuals with information about the locations of land plots, districts and maps of the city and conurbation, Wam has reported. The 'Ardi' (My Land) service is available through an interactive electronic touch screen, offering all information related to zones, land plots, locations and aerial images of the area under investigation. The user can use the screen to identify the location and area of the land plot in square meters or feet and ascertain the land use, be it a residential, commercial, agricultural or industrial land, the civic body said.

RERA Blames Air Conditioning Costs For Dubai Service Fee Increase

Thursday, February 09, 2012 03:08:11 AM

Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) has said utility and chiller charges have led to an increase in service charges, despite the significant decline in maintenance charges, Emirates 24-7 has reported. "We have tried our level best to reduce maintenance fees, but all our efforts are hampered by the rising cost of utilities and chiller charges. We have taken up the issue with the respective agencies," said Mohammed Khalifa bin Hammad, senior director of Rera. "We have worked to reduce the maintenance charges in most developments. We don't approve any budget of any developer without reviewing them. They have to justify each and every increase that they have asked for," he added.

Nakheel Told To Pay Contractor Dh58m

Thursday, February 09, 2012 01:41:56 AM

Dubai: A contractor has won almost Dh60 million from developer Nakheel for work completed in an unfinished contract to construct 31 residential buildings in Discovery Gardens.

The Dubai World Tribunal (DWT) agreed that Technical Architects General Contracting Company (TAGC) should be paid over Dh58 million for the portion of the Dh950 million project that was finished when work was halted in 2008.

In a statement yesterday, law firm Hadef & Partners welcomed the DWT decision, which rejected an appeal by Nakheel that the compensation figure had not been agreed to and that the firm had not received the original papers from TAGC.

In January 2011 TAGC served proceedings on Nakheel in the DWT claiming Dh73 million, the agreed settlement of Dh58 million plus interest and loss of profit.

Nakheel, which declined to comment to Gulf News yesterday, also argued that DWT did not have jurisdiction to try the case.

Head of Hadef & Partners' engineering and construction practice in Dubai, Anthony Edwards said: "This is a significant victory for our client TAGC in its efforts to recover its costs incurred under the terms of the contract. The DWT affirmed it had jurisdiction to hear this case and there was clear evidence the settlement agreement had been entered into and that Nakheel had failed to prove the amount had not been agreed," he said.

The decisions of the DWT are not subject to appeal. TAGC asked Nakheel to pay the amount within 14 days and will be asking for costs and further interest.

Union Properties Net Loss Widens

Friday, February 03, 2012 12:55:04 AM

Dubai: Real estate developer Union Properties posted a full year net loss of Dh1.57 billion in 2011, up from the Dh1.53 billion loss it reported a year earlier.

"Total assets reduced to Dh9.1 billion while shareholders' equity decreased to Dh2.4 billion.

The company made an operating profit of Dh196 million and net loss after provision for loss on valuation of properties of Dh1.6 billion," Union Properties said in a statement posted on the Dubai Financial Market website.

The developer, however, reported an increase in revenues from Dh2.9 million in 2010 to Dh4.9 million in 2011.

Incomplete projects

"It is surprising the revenue has gone up but their profits show they have made a loss. This may be because they have put more money into incomplete projects and they must have allocated some of their finances through their Emirates NBD loan. The extra loss is the price they have to pay to get those projects completed," Craig Plumb, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a property consultancy, said.

Union Properties recently announced that it had secured a loan of Dh400 million from Emirates NBD to complete two stalled hotel projects in its MotorCity development.

"We will start repaying in two years. The loan will help us complete the two hotels and also spend as we need to," Khalid Bin Kalban, chairman of Union Properties, told Bloomberg.

The developer will soon tender a contract to finish the Renaissance Hotel and the Courtyard by Marriott in MotorCity.

Dubai MotorCity was among the many projects stalled during the property slump which saw prices drop more than 65 per cent in 2009. The development, which is 70 per cent complete, comprises Uptown MotorCity, Green Community MotorCity, Dubai Autodrome and Business Park MotorCity.

Union Properties finalised the sale of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Dubai International Financial Centre in November 2010. The developer recently completed a commercial building Index Tower at a time when commercial rents are expected to decrease due to upcoming supply.

Commercial rents

According to JLL's Q4 [fourth quarter] 2011 Market Overview, average asking rents for prime office buildings have remained stable over the past year. However, with a vacancy rate that now stands at around 30 per cent, office rentals are likely to face downward pressure as further supply enters the market in a period where many tenants are optimising or rationalising their space requirements.

Comparison

Dh1.57b: the developer's full year net loss for 2011
Dh196m: developer's operating profit for the year