Heavy morning fog and zero visibility driver alerts notwithstanding, hundreds of investors descended at Emaar Properties’ Downtown sales office early on Saturday to buy townhouses in Mira Oasis in the Reem master development.
But as the numbers swelled, Dubai’s largest developer cancelled the first-come first-served approach and adopted an “online registration”system in order to manage the crowd.
“There was a huge rush at the Emaar sales office… there could be anywhere between 800 and 1,000 people. There was total confusion,” said a real estate agent, who was present at the sales office. “We were informed to register online at the event. We are being told that the sales will continue despite all the chaos,” he added.
By 9.00 am Emaar announced on its website that the registration had been closed.
Sales were being held simultaneously across three other cities: Abu Dhabi, Jeddah and Islamabad. Sources said that hundreds of investors were standing in queues in Islamabad and Emaar was planning to postpone the launch there as well. Sources said that the launch was progressing in Abu Dhabi and Jeddah.
Emaar had adopted the a first-come, first-served basis for sales of Mira Oasis, a townhouse community within Reem neighborhood located close to Arabian Ranches. Following the announcement, real estate agencies had send out emails to their clients, offering to queue up on their behalf at the developer’s sales office. Prices were not disclosed in advanced, but it was announced that 15 percent of the property value would be demanded as down payment.
