According to a recent report by Colliers International, property prices in Dubai will fall even further over the next 18 months and will not start to increase for the foreseeable future. 71% of developers polled stated that property prices had not yet bottomed out.
This year’s CityScape in Dubai is forcing the industry to face a few harsh realities. Duding the run up to the exhibition, all the major Dubai property developers pulled out, including Nakheel, Emaar and Limitless, although Emaar and Nakheel were touted as “Foundation Sponsors,” and the 2009 exhibitor list on CityScape’s website is still empty. The amount of exhibitors is well down and the usual, “XXX Billion Dirham development!” announcements have been somewhat lacking. I don’t think anyone could have swallowed that this year.
Dubai-based developer, Emaar properties saw another slide in share prices after closing it’s offices in Algeria due to “a lack of progress which is beyond the company’s control.” The action came after announcements that Emaar will be merging with several other government-owned developers, and threw more confusion and lack of confidence into Dubai’s stock and real estate markets. Investors reacted badly to the proposed merger and, Emaar’s shares fell sharply on the announcement. Several analysts have stopped rating the company, because of lack of transparency in the deal, but one thing is clear – the merger is highly likely to damage existing shareholders. Emaar shares dropped another 7.2%, to close at 2.60 dirhams (71 cents) Sunday after the Algerian announcement.
The Dubai International Property Show opened today with almost “no visitors” according to Property wire.
‘These are the difficult times and we must admit the reality and then find the solution,’ said Abdullah M Al Shizawi, managing partner of Heart of Capital.
More on Dubai International Property Show a Flop and Another Broker in Dubai Goes Under
Dubai/UAE
Prices for residential property in Dubai are expected to fall another 50% in 2009, according to Landmark, although they have faith that the high end of the market will drop a little less in value. Download report.
HSBC Plc slashed its price estimate for property giant Emaar Properties to Dh8.5 from Dh13.9 amid plummeting real estate prices and the first rash of foreclosures in Dubai.
“The estimates cut will reflect the likelihood of further market weakness,” said HSBC, citing its survey which showed Dubai property prices in December fell 23 % from their September peak. HSBC said the possibility of a more prolonged economic slowdown may force Emaar to postpone or shelve its projects until there are clearer signs of recovery.
With property values tanking in Dubai, Nakheel have now gone to the trouble of suggesting that David and Victoria Beckham “have shown interest in increasing their property portfolio in the UAE.”
Property prices in Dubai are starting to fall. As usual, the reality and the hype are at odds with each other. Like the rest of the world, Dubai is facing some severe financial issues currently, and it is unrealistic to think this will have no effect on property prices. This is a recent press release, disguised as an editorial piece -
The housing situation in Dubai and neighboring emirates is in for a nasty surprise. Following the recent introduction of new laws aimed at curbing speculation in the Dubai property market and preventing immigrant workers from being taken advantage of by dubious landlords, Dubai Municipality announced a 30-day deadline from Sunday for residents sharing villas to vacate them, giving the thousands of tenants a rude shock.
Omar bin Abdul Rahman, Head of the Building Inspection Section at the Dubai Municipality, said on Sunday that landlords must ensure that only one family lives in their villas. If they failed to comply with the new rules within the deadline, the municipality would slap fines up to Dh50,000 on them, the official said. The civic body had already said it would not take the responsibility of making the landlords refund the rents collected in advance. The deadline announced on Sunday is all set to land many tenants in deep trouble. “There cannot be any bachelors, labourers or more than one family in the villas. Though the campaign in this connection has been on for quite a while, the landlords will now have to ensure that regulations are complied within a month, that is 30 days,” Abdul Rahman said.
