Friday, Feb 25, 2011

Gulf News

Plans 300 to 500 new residential units a year

Dubai By creating a wider residential portfolio early last year, The Wave, Muscat has been able to chart a better way through the current trough in the Gulf’s property markets. It was in March last that the developer created smaller format properties pitched at mid-income buyers.

“Initially, most of the projects launched at the time were fairly skewed towards the upper end, there wasn’t too much variety,” Michael Lenarduzzi, the firm’s CEO, said in a telephone interview from Muscat. “What we are doing now is broaden the offering to appeal to a wider range of markets. It’s worked extremely well for us.”

Indeed. On their launch last year, 70 per cent of the 170 units were snapped up in 48 hours and the rest soon after. The master developer will stick to the same formula — and hope for a similar set of results this year too.

While an entry-level one-bedroom apartment at The Wave, Muscat would have a price tag of Dh740,000, the pricier villas cost Dh5 million and more.

“We want to have ongoing availability of new products as quickly as market demand dictates,” said Lenar-duzzi. “There is the new offering of what we call twin villas, which are smaller formats compared with the standard ones. There will be new villas on the waterfront and apartments overlooking the marina.”

Good offtake

To date, about 1,000 units have been sold, of which deliveries number 650 properties, creating a community of 500 residents to date.

Another 350 units will be ready before the year’s end. Going forward, the plans are to complete between 300 to 500 residences a year.

On whether there was any move to raise the residential element beyond what was initially projected, the CEO said: “We have kept the masterplan, in the broad sense if you like, pretty consistent. We have changed the mix, but the numbers haven’t changed too much — it has been around 4,000 units right from the word ‘go’.”

Supplied picture

Building on demand

The Wave, Muscat is applying a business plan: to come out with new products as quickly as market demand dictates.

By Manoj Nair?Associate Editor

Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.