Dubai Property Investment News Oct09

With the end of Cityscape Dubai, Nakheel is planning on another 500 job losses according to "The Independent," newspaper.

Nakheel, the state-owned Dubai property group that was responsible for the iconic Palm Jumeirah artificial island, is set to make as many as 500 redundancies now that the Emirate's "Cityscape Dubai 2009" show is over. Announcements are expected in the next few days, a consequence of fallout from the global financial crisis. Dubai property values have fallen 50 per cent in a year. The company said last night: "Nakheel continues to evaluate its projects and commitments against market conditions and opportunities. In doing so, the company also evaluates its cost base and efficiencies." Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said Dubai needs to raise another $10bn (£6.3bn) for its economic support fund, to prop up government-related companies. The independent.

Cityscape was a shadow of it's former self, with attendances down more than 50% and no new projects announced. A number of key developers pulled out just before the event.

It's a far cry from last year's event when men dressed as Zulu warriors alternately danced and lounged next to a sprawling scale model of AmaZulu World, a development slated for South Africa, by Ruwaad, a U.A.E.-based company. During the boom times, some developers spent up to $3 million on exhibition models, entertainers and glamorous promotion girls, according to Donald Trump Junior, executive vice president of the Trump Organization. Wall St journal

At least 25% of all homes and commercial property in Dubai is sitting empty, with substantial inventory still in the pipepline.

One in four homes is vacant in Dubai and a quarter of office space lays empty due to oversupply and additional supply coming onto the market will continue to put pressure on prices, Colliers International said on Wednesday. The property services firm said in a report the emirate will have 340,000 residential units by the end of the year, with and another 34,300 expected to come online in the next two years. Maktoob

All in all, things are not looking well for Dubai, and one has to question where the Emirate is now headed. I suspect that there will be a limited recovery in a very small sector, while a large proportion of the so-called "luxury homes," will end up as public housing projects.