Tag Archives: dubai
Dubai rents expected to remain stable in 2016
Dubai is set to see a more stable real estate market in 2016 with prices expected to rise slightly and rents remain stable in the coming 12 months. New growth is likely to centre on affordable homes with several developers already announcing a foray into this sector of the real estate market. International City, IMPZ, Dubailand, Sports City, JVC and Silicon Oasis already have a number of lower cost options for buyers. The latest data from the Real Estate Regulatory Authority shows that rents for one and two bedroom apartments fell in 2015 across much of Dubai. Rents for one bedroom flats fell by between 4.55% and 11% depending on location. Two bed rents in Downtown Dubai are down by between 5.26% and 5.88% while in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) they fell by between 8.33% and 10%. In International City, rents of two bedroom apartments are down by 7.69% to 10%, in Dubai Marina they are down 5.26%, in Palm Jumeirah they dropped by u to 5.55% and in Discovery Gardens they fell by 5.8%. However rents in this sector were stable in many other locations including the Greens, Silicon Oasis, Jumeirah Village Circle, Arjan, Dubai Sports City, Dubailand and the International Media Production Zone. The arbitrary nature of rent prices is also shown in the latest data from real estate portal Bayut. It shows that average rents at the end of 2015 were AED 137,000, up 2.14% from AED 134,000 at the end of December 2014. A breakdown of the figures show that for studio apartments average rents were unchanged year on year but those for one bedroom flats increased 6.6% while two and three bedroom apartment rents fell by 4% and 2% respectively. Four bedroom rents fell by 12%. The firm believes that more affordable property will prove popular and is expecting 2016 to be a busy year in the residential real estate market as the population continues to increase and the economy continues to diversify. ‘Business and job growth will drive demand for residential and commercial spaces and ultimately help push property prices upwards,’ the firm added. Continue reading
Dubai to get more affordable homes
Dubai is usually associated with luxury property that fits with the glitz associated with the celebrities and wealthy property owners in the emirate but several new announcements now suggest otherwise. One developer is to build a series of affordable homes in Dubai while over 200 dilapidated villas that were lying empty are to be demolished. The moves show a different side to the emirate’s real estate market and is a reminder that not all properties are luxury apartments for the well off. Danube Properties has unveiled an affordable housing project that will allow home owners to turn one room into two. The Ritz Project at Al Furjan includes 452 fully furnished apartments, comprising of studios, and one a d two bedroom units. The rooms features a bed which can be tucked into the wall during the day, thus creating a larger living room space. At night it can be lowered to transform the accommodation into a bedroom. The Ritz also includes retail space and a gym, together with an outdoor running track and swimming pool, tennis and badminton courts and a basketball area. ‘We are bringing the latest home technology to our customers at a time when consumers are looking for more with less,’ said Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group, who added that the homes are aimed at new couples and small families. The launch comes at a time when the luxury part of the property market is experiencing a softening, but Sajan pointed out that some 18,000 new homes are needed in the emirate over the next five years. ‘Real estate is a long term business and I am a firm believer in the long term sustainability of Dubai’s economy, which is very resilient. The current supply of 12,000 to 13,000 homes per annum falls well below the anticipated demand. Besides more than 80% of Dubai’s population live in rented homes,’ he explained. ‘With property prices coming down to a more realistic level we see the possibility of a large scale migration to home ownership from rental homes,’ Sajan added. Meanwhile, around 250 dilapidated villas across Dubai which are regarded as posing a public health risk are to be demolished. According to Dubai Municipality many of the properties are caught up in inheritance disputes between family members and the rightful owner has neglected them, making them a threat to security and public health. ‘There is a possibility that these houses are used as a den for crimes and as a hiding place for illegals and fugitives,’ said Khaled Mohammed Saleh, head of the buildings department at Dubai Municipality. It is estimated that there are 713 abandoned houses across Dubai of which 303 have already been demolished and a further 154 have been renovated by their owners. The Municipality will now issue orders to the owners for the houses to be demolished and if they fail to comply the properties will be taken down and the owners charged. Continue reading
Builders welcome UK govt plan to commission new homes
The UK Government, which has announced that it will directly commission the building of thousands of new homes, is being urged to offer small sites for the plan. According to the Federation of Master Builders the availability of small sites is the greatest barrier currently faced by SME house builders when it comes to delivering new homes and it hopes the building of 13,000 new homes on public land will alleviate the problem. ‘The Government clearly recognises that we need to bring more small house builders back into the market if we have any hope of addressing the housing shortfall. Directly funding developments on publicly owned land, with planning permission already granted, should encourage growth of smaller builders and new entrants into the market,’ said Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB. ‘The public land that is being made available through direct commissioning must be broken down into small and micro plots wherever possible. As the Housing Minister himself has recognised, the smaller the site, the quicker it will get built out,’ he explained. ‘If the Government wants to truly tap into the potential of SME house builders, it should bring forward a wide range of packages of land, including those attractive to the smallest of developers, thereby improving both capacity and speed of delivery,’ he pointed out. ‘As positive as this development is however, it remains only one piece of the jigsaw. The on-going skills shortage is as pertinent for local firms as it is for larger contractors. We desperately need more skilled tradespeople in the industry, otherwise even supportive plans such as those announced today will be challenging for builders to deliver. Boosting apprenticeship training among construction SMEs will be crucial to this,’ he added. The move has been welcomed by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) but it added that allowing smaller builders to access publicly owned sites must be part of wider set of measures to assist SME builders and get more 'players on the pitch'. ‘Increasing the amount of developable land with planning permission is essential if we are to increase output further. Bringing forward public land more quickly has long been a priority for successive Governments, so concrete measures to achieve this are welcome,’ said executive chairman Stewart Baseley. ‘Direct commissioning will only be successful if it speeds up the release of public sector land and results in more house building than would have happened using the more traditional methods of public sector land disposal,’ he added. He also pointed out that a lower risk model could allow larger builders to increase their output still further, while also enabling smaller house builders to increase output and both have an essential role to play. It is not a question of either/or. ‘We desperately need to increase supply even further and faster than the current rate of increase, and speeding up delivery of public sector sites can play an important role in achieving this. In addition, if Starter Homes… Continue reading
