Tuesday, Mar 14, 2017
Dubai: Land prices in Dubai seem to have stabilised for now and are thus easing the cost pressure on private developers, according to the top executive at the Danube Group.
“Last year they had gone up by 5-15 per cent in the some of the emerging locations of the city, and [it] was getting to be a problem,” said Rizwan Sajan, chairman of the Danube Group. “That was a cost inflation developers could have done without. Thankfully, in recent weeks, land values have stopped seeing those variations.”
On Tuesday, Danube launched its eighth project, the ‘Resortz’ located near Miracle Garden and within the Arjan cluster of Dubailand. The three buildings in a ground-plus-four-storey structure will add 400 apartments.
Average prices are Dh1,100 a square foot, and as with its earlier launches, backed by a 1 per cent monthly instalment plan (at zero interest). The new project is also close to the Miraclz project it launched earlier. (Land values were under Dh150 a square foot.)
Danube typically launches a new project every three months. “But with Resortz, we took slightly longer only because there were some delays in the approval process,” said Sajan. “In the first quarter of 2017, buyer sentiment is good compared to a year ago situation. There is so much talk about rent declines — but I didn’t see any major corrections happening last year.
“My 300-unit rental portfolio in the city didn’t see much of a change anyway. In these circumstances, there is always an incentive to buy a property here.”
With Resortz, Danube is aiming for a June 2019 completion. Late April should see another launch, and this year should see Dh1.3 billion worth of projects being launched, compared with a Dh1 billion tally last year.
The first homes in the Danube portfolio will also be delivered this year, and will number about 800 units.
According to Sajan, his new projects will be anchored around mid-tier locations where the infrastructure is already in place.
“Locations in and around Ibn Battuta Mall and Mall of the Emirates are where we will continue to seek new opportunities,” the chairman added.
“Further down the road and into Dubai South, we will wait awhile before taking any decisions.”
The first quarter of the year has been quite busy from a launch perspective for Dubai developers.
Many of these have been in the high-end space, notably Emaar’s at Dubai Creek Harbour and Meraas with the residences at its Bluewaters Island.
Market sources also confirm that transaction volumes in the first two months have held up well, with most locations making gains on a year-on-year basis.
By Manoj Nair Associate Editor
Gulf News 2017. All rights reserved.
