Dubai Property News
First Four Seasons hotel to open in Dubai
There is certainly no shortage of luxury hotels in Dubai and it looks like yet another glamorous resort is set to open its doors within the next year or so.Leaders of the high-end Four Seasons chain have confirmed that work on a brand new site in the plush Jumeirah Beach area is ongoing.If all goes to plan, the 237-room complex will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2014 and there is a chance that the company will erect a second hotel in the emirate shortly after this one is completed.According to AMEinfo, Four Seasons president of hotel operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa Christopher Norton is not concerned about the strength of competition in the hotel sector and he feels the Four Seasons Resort Dubai will perform well, mainly because of its prime location.Indeed, he is expecting occupancy rates to reach the 80 per cent mark within the first 18 months of operation.”We have a great advantage because we enter the market as an established luxury brand. Also, we have one of the best marketing and PR organisations in the world, so as a truly global brand we can turn on a lot of the distribution channels that we know and control,” Mr Norton was quoted as saying.The hotel will offer 270 metres of beachfront and guests can choose to stay in one of 49 suites. The complex will also boast outdoor pools, a private beach club, tennis courts, a spa and three restaurants.Dubai hoteliers have been inundated with bookings in the past year and this high demand has enabled them to increase their room rates.This is despite the fact that more and more luxurious resorts are opening all the time.Earlier this month, staff at the swanky Ritz-Carlton facility celebrated the launch of the new Shorooq wing, which includes 148 guest rooms and two royal suites.The Ritz-Carlton is another hotel that benefits from being located along the city's stunning beachfront. Continue reading
UAE investors starting to favour property, study shows
UAE-based investors are increasingly confident about pouring money into local assets and they seem to be focusing more and more on the property sector.The latest Friends Provident International (FPI) Investor Attitudes report showed that people in this part of the world are now more comfortable about making investments domestically than their counterparts in Hong Kong and Singapore.This is a telling discovery, as both of these Asian destinations are viewed as major global investment hubs, and it only emphasises just how well the UAE is performing.According to the FPI report, the index for the UAE has risen dramatically since last year, with the country now boasting a score of 28 – up by 11 points on the fourth quarter of 2012. The indices for Hong Kong and Singapore currently stand at 27 and 25 respectively.The study focuses on wealthier investors in each market and it found that UAE-based traders are shifting away from commodities such as gold in favour of real estate.Matthew Waterfield, FPI's general manager for the Middle East and Africa, said the results back up recent suggestions that consumer confidence in the UAE is on the up.”It is interesting – although not entirely surprising – to see the much improved preference for investing in property, which has been building over the last few editions of the report,” he remarked.”Sentiment towards property investment is a fairly reliable barometer of the level of confidence in the local investment market.”Increased interest in UAE-based property has resulted in a plethora of new projects that were previously shelved during the economic downturn being resurrected in places like Dubai.A recent study by Jones Lang LaSalle emphasised how well the property sector has been performing of late, as the demand for residential and commercial buildings has risen sharply in the past year.For the first time since 2008, all areas of the city's real estate industry are well placed to mount an impressive recovery throughout 2013, so now is the ideal time for investors to swoop in and secure more lucrative assets.Looking for apartments in Dubai? The First Group can help you out Continue reading
Office rent upturn highlights strength of Dubai’s property sector
The demand for office space in Dubai has risen so sharply in recent months that landlords have been able to bump up their rent.A new study by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has shown that the tricky commercial real estate market finally showed signs of life in the first quarter of the year.While the residential property sector has been going from strength to strength in the past year, the clamour for office space has not been anywhere near as intense, but this appears to be changing.For the first time since mid-2008, all sectors of the emirate's property industry are well positioned and the future seems to be bright.Chief executive of JLL Alan Robertson is hoping to see a period of slower and more manageable growth than in previous years.”For some months now, we have seen sustained confidence in the Dubai real estate market, although it remains selective with the best performance focused on high quality assets in prime locations,” he remarked.According to the REIDIN general Residential Sale Index residential property sales increased by 18 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 when compared with the corresponding period in 2012.As ever, it is the higher end of Dubai's property market that is attracting the most attention. The demand for villas and luxurious apartments in areas like Burj Downtown, Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah soared between January and March.Craig Plumb, head of research for JLL in the Middle East and North Africa region, believes Dubai's economy will continue to expand and foreign investors will see the city as an increasingly appealing place to secure new assets.”Dubai could even benefit from the continued uncertainties in the eurozone which may lead to a transfer of capital into the Dubai real estate market, given its safe haven status and attractiveness to offshore investors,” he commented.Around 28,000 new properties are expected to be built by the end of this year, which means investors will have plenty of excellent buildings to choose from when they scour the UAE market.Click here for your free property investment guide Continue reading
