- A project displayed at Cityscape Global 2014.
- Rory Jones for The Wall Street Journal
Dubai’s showcase annual real-estate event appears to offer more substance than style this year: Cityscape Global had fewer glitzy property launches on day one than last year, and there were no backroom scuffles as investors scrambled to snap up units of premier developers.
There was still plenty of real estate for sale as the event kicked off on Sunday, and hundreds of investors looking to park cash in villas and apartments across a market that remains buoyant, if not headline-grabbing.
Apartment prices in Dubai were up 34% on year in the third quarter, while villa prices across the emirate increased 20%, real estate consultants JLL said. Compared however to the previous quarter, villas prices increased 3% and apartments by 1%, mirroring the more measured Cityscape event.
Dubai’s boom and bust property market in the past 18 months has rebounded sharply from the financial crisis-induced crash, raising concerns of another potential bubble.
But consultants and developers said regulations introduced on mortgage limits, increased sales transaction fees and rules on developer ownership of land had all helped stymie Dubai’s volatile real estate market in the past six months.
“Today, there’s more of a commitment required to buying real estate in Dubai,” said Ziad El Char, the managing director of London-listed Damac Properties, which announced plans for a second golf course and residential complex in Dubai operated by the Trump Organization. “It’s now a more serious business.”
Dubai Properties, part of government-owned Dubai Holding, notably relaunched or announced new projects, including Dubai Wharf, a $218 million project on the emirate’s creek. It also began selling units in downtown Dubai and on the outskirts of the city.
Developer SKAI Holdings said it had recently secured $252 million of sales for a new $327 million tower with four-star serviced hotel apartments. Nakheel, the developer of the Palm-shaped development in Dubai, also launched a three-tower complex of more than 1,000 homes.
In total, Dubai will add 20,000 to 25,000 new residential units each year for the next few years on top of the 450,000 currently available, which would roughly meet the growth in population, consultants said.
“There are a lot of people here,” said Mat Green, head of research at CBRE. “And there’s a lot going on in the market.”
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(via WSJ Blogs)
