Premier UK-based property management and real estate firm, Hamptons International, recently opened a new branch in Abu Dhabi. Offering their full spectrum of services, including residential and commercial sales and leasing, property management, valuations and research, mortgage services, mortgage calculator, and global investments and assets management, the move by Hamptons represents the ongoing consolidation of property development sector in the region.
A number of British contractors in the UAE have not been paid by the local developers – some are as much as six months in arrears and the British business secretary, Lord Mandelson has approached Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s rulers Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi for assurances that the situtuation will be remedied.
More on UAE Property Developers Failing to pay British Contractors
The Abu Dhabi Real Estate and Investment Show has been hit hard by the global downturn. Exhibitors showcasing their latest projects said yesterday that they are finding buyers hard to come by. The sales staff just about outnumbered the visitors at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center on the opening day.
UAE-based developer Tamweer is to lay off around half of its workforce amid the meltdown in the Dubai real estate market caused by the global financial crisis. Tameer last week handed redundancy notices to around 180 of their 350 employees stating that Dec. 31 would be their last day at work.
Dubai’s property prices are falling like the proverbial rock and the government of Abu Dhabi has stepped in, in an effort to prevent a complete meltdown in Dubai’s property market. Dubai’s two largest mortgage lenders, Tamweel and Amlak Finance have reached the point where they are unteneble and Abu Dhabi’s state owned “Real Estate Bank,” will take over both lenders.
More on Abu Dhabi steps in to prevent complete meltdown in Dubai and The Atlantis is Empty
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 -
Not content with their own world record for the highest tower, Dubai developers Nakheel on Sunday announced plans to build a tower which could stand one kilometer high (3,280 feet)
More on Kilometer High Tower Planned in Dubai – “It won’t fall over” says CEO
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.
The new regulations for green buildings in Abu Dhabi are in the final stages and expected to be implemented in January 2009, a senior official announced on Tuesday., which is about time as far as I am concerned. Too many developers are claiming to be building “eco-friendly property developments” with no details to back up their claims, and this will hopefully curb this practice.
Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council (UPC) announced last year the initiative aimed at developing new standards for sustainable development in Abu Dhabi.
The Abu Dhabi Municipality has completed the plans for a new city to be established in southern Al Shamkha area. The city will accommodate around one million people.
The municipality is currently distributing 10,000 residential plots of land to citizens to build their houses.
