Investing in Property in Dubai - No shortage of new developments

The volume of property sales in Dubai is poised to rise as more global investors enter the Gulf markets, said Blair Hagkull, MD of Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate investment and advisory firm. Dubai is projected to record a 55.2% increase in property deals to hit $195 billion in 2008.

With credit crisis hitting real estate markets in the US and Europe, many investors are looking at the Gulf markets, Dubai in particular.

said Hagkull. He was speaking to reporters at the launch of a new study — the Real Estate Transparency Report 2008 for the MENA region — which ranked Dubai as the region’s top most transparent market. Hagkull said Dubai’s position as the most transparent of the MENA markets placed it ahead of other emerging economies such as those of the BRIC Markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

“Better than China, India and most of Russia, Dubai’s transparency index score exceeds the other BRIC markets,” he told reporters. Jones Lang LaSalle is an investment adviser with a track-record of working on projects worth $200 billion in MENA.

Little wonder really with the amount of new developments being announced almost as quickly as we can report on them. This is a selection of new developments announced over the last few weeks:

Dubai Investments announced the launch of Mirdiff Hills - a Dhs2bn mixed-use development in Dubai - through its real estate arm Dubai Investments Real Estate Company (DIRC) Mirdiff Hills is envisioned as a self-contained community comprising residential apartments, corporate offices and retail outlets. Commenting on the project’s launch, Khalid Kalban, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Investments said, “DIRC intends to play a leading role in the regional property scene, and with the launch of Mirdiff Hills we take a significant step towards achieving our strategic objectives and consolidating our market presence. With several more prestigious projects in the pipeline, DIRC is set to further expand its portfolio and position itself at the forefront of real estate activity within the UAE.”

ACW Holdings, launched their latest development in Dubai last week - a Dh200 million freehold residential and serviced apartments project, aimed to give investors annual returns of around 45%. Platinum Two has a built-up area of 164,598 square feet and is located in Arjan in Dubailand. The Platinum Two development is purely freehold and “definitely not a timeshare”, according to Ian Pask, general manager of ACW Holdings.

Units are rented out on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and the income is collected. Once costs have been removed, investors get back around 60 per cent of the net income. Pask said that even of your apartment is never let out, investors receive an income.

Indian real estate developer, Baani on launched its first project in the UAE - the project is valued at Dh1.5 billion in Dubai Maritime City, in conjunction with Gowealthy com.

The iDubai is located at the Harbour Residences of Dubai Maritime City and it comprises two 50-storey towers, the iTower and Sky Tower, offering residential and 10,000 square feet of retail space and 40,000 square feet of office space.

Baani president Virendra Bhatia said: “The opportunity we saw in Dubai…we felt a kind of scale that is not available in India.”

Due to its sleek, slim shape, the iDubai is similar in design to the Flatiron building in New York City.

There is a seven-storey atrium, and five levels of podium parking in each tower. All the apartments will have sea views.

The iTower has seven one and two-bedroom apartments per floor. The one-bedroom units will be between 1,050 sq ft and 1,425 sq ft and the two bedroom units will be between 1,720 sq ft and 1,990 sq ft.

The Sky Tower has three bedroom sky villas, with one villa measuring 3,280 sq ft, on every floor. Each villa has an infinity pool. Phase two of iDubai will include garden villas ranging between 3,200 sq ft to 4,100 sq ft and eight townhouses.

So, if you were worried that you might arrive in Dubai and find it all gone, fear not.