Dubai Real Estate

DUBAI: Property experts are preparing the first major benchmark surveys of service fees so that investors who have long complained of excessive rates can compare prices. The government-backed Middle East Facility Management Association (Mefma) plans this month to start collecting data from its 75 corporate members as well as developers and property owners. The process[…]

Nakheel is set to embark on a major expansion of its retail operations, doubling the size of both Ibn Battuta Mall and Dragon Mart. The company will join a host of developers investing billions of dirhams in malls, hotels and entertainment. In addition, the developer behind Dubai’s palm-shaped islands is confident banks will lend Dh300[…]

At least one realty agency here says its female employees make more money than their male counterparts Are women more successful as real estate consultants in the UAE? And do they make more money for their company than their male counterparts? At Better Homes, women consultants have been more successful and have earned more money[…]

The Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), the educational arm of Dubai Land Department (LD), will start offering its Certified International Property Specialist Program next April, which is being offered for the first time in the GCC region to enable real estate professionals to join a global network of international certified experts and deal with an[…]

Saudi Arabia-based developer Al Hokair Group is planning to resume construction on its stalled Al Sahara Kingdom hotel and entertainment project in Dubailand in 2013, its deputy CEO has said. The Al Sahara Kingdom has been master-planned over a 4.6 hectare area in Dubailand, the delayed real estate development backed by Dubai Properties Group (DPG).

Property investors and developers tied up in the troubled Dubai Lagoon project have reached a stalemate over how to move forward, with each blaming the other for the lack of progress on site. The AED3bn ($817m) mixed-use development, which has faced a series of difficulties since its launch in 2005, remains strangled by liquidity woes[…]

Experts and officials ask this question every six months, only to be disappointed. But for now, the answer seems to be “yes.” Is Dubai back? That’s the question economists and government officials ask about once every six months, only to be disappointed. But this time, at least, the stock market seems to be answering a[…]

Only 18 luxurious villas go on sale set in vast premises of 17,000 to 27,000 sq ft Emaar Properties on Monday launched sale of premium Golf Homes located in Arabian Ranches Golf Course. Only 18 villas, each in a plot area of 17,000 to 27,000 square feet, are for sale. The villas are specifically developed[…]

A five star villa resort located on one of the man made islands on Nakheel’s The World development in Dubai is set to be cancelled by the emirate’s real estate regulator, it is reported. Initially due to be completed in mid 2011, the Jasmine Garden beach resort on the Thailand island was one of many[…]

Global icon Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, dominated Dubai’s biggest residential real estate deals in 2011, occupying three among the eight biggest residential deals for the year, besides occupying the top two slots. The largest residential real estate transaction in Dubai last year was registered in Burj Khalifa with the price topping Dh28 million,[…]

Luxury developer DAMAC Properties is offering a 24% rental return guarantee on all units purchased within its Burjside Terrace serviced apartment development in Dubai. The developer is offering a guaranteed tax-free 8% annual rental return over three years, in a move aimed at increasing investor confidence in the stability and security of the property market[…]

Wealthy Afghans are pouring millions of dollars into the UAE property market, in the run up to NATO withdrawing from the country in two years time. According to a number of estate agents spoken to by Arabian Business, properties in the Palm are amongst the areas being targeted for cash deals.Wealthy An estimated $8bn is[…]

The tallest dedicated hotel building in the world is set to open later this year in Dubai. The JW Marriott Marquis will consist of two towers, both 355 meters tall, just 26 meters shy of New York’s Empire State Building, according to the company.

Property prices for luxury apartments in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, have fallen to as low as AED2,100 per sq ft, real estate experts have told Arabian Business. High service charges coupled with distressed sales are being cited as the reason for the drop.

Jumeirah will see the release of 270 new housing units in the coming months as Dubai Real Estate Corporation (DREC) begins leasing for its Wasl Square project. The project, dubbed — the Jewel of Jumeirah — by the company, will have 140 apartments and 130 townhouses. The project will consists of 26 one-bedroom apartments, 114[…]

Dubai’s real estate market is seeing “selective stabilisation”, with a pick-up in transactions expected early next year, Cluttons said on Tuesday. The real estate company said in a statement it has taken on 10 new staff “to meet demand in the New Year”, adding that prices were close to bottoming out in Dubai.

Individual apartment owners, offering their units on short-term lease such as on daily or weekly basis, should have a license and must incorporate a company to run such a commercial activity, a senior government official told Emirates 24|7.

Dubai homeowners are bearing the brunt of inflated service fees caused by suppliers paying off developers to secure maintenance contracts at above-market prices, industry experts said. The kickback culture has seen some homeowners pay over the odds for services such as cleaning, landscaping and maintenance as developers favour companies offering bribes.

It will be a broader recovery for the Dubai residential market in terms of prices and rentals next year than just some pockets showing signs of stablistation this year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

Nearly 23,000 new housing units will enter Dubai’s market this year while around 18,000 are expected in Abu Dhabi to put further downward pressure on rents in the two emirates, a newspaper reported on Monday. At least 13,000 housing units were supplied in Dubai in 2011 while nearly 10,000 entered Abu Dhabi, the semi official[…]

DUBAI: Residents of Palm Jumeirah’s luxury Shoreline towers yesterday urged police to unlock the back door of a building closed by its developer in a row over beach access. The crowd met in a lobby trying in vain to have officers open the entrance, which was shut by Nakheel to stop residents using the beach.

A military conflict between Iran and Western powers would be detrimental to property prices in the United Arab Emirates as the country would lose its safe haven status, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. A confrontation will affect “confidence in the U.A.E. and the impact on real-estate prices would be certainly negative,” said Fadi Moussalli,[…]

Average room rates of Dubai hotels dropped 18.7 per cent to $217 in November 2011 compared to $267 for the same month last year, according to Ernst & Young’s latest figures. The figures showed that the emirates posted third biggest drops in November in the Mena region after Sharm El Sheikh (22.8 per cent) and[…]

Major Dubai developer Nakheel has announced plans to start rebuilding on its iconic Palm island development, the first activity since it received a government bailout in 2009. The Pointe development will include shops, computer controlled fountains, a marina and a public walk on the tip of the palm shaped island, chairman Ali Rashed Lootah confirmed.