Sustainability key factor for potential buyers at Nakheel's Waterfront

Survey reveals that half of buyers would now choose a property based on its environmental friendliness

Dubai, 31 December 2008: Nakheel, Dubai's master developer, has uncovered the key factor when considering the purchase of a property by conducting a survey of potential real estate buyers.

According to the survey, sustainability and how environmentally friendly a property is tops other factors that have historically been given priority, including reliability of developer, location and prestige.

The survey was undertaken following a month-long advertising campaign for the launch of Badrah, a district within Nakheel's Waterfront development, which launched in May 2008.

A cross section of 400 respondents from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah were questioned about which factors were important to them when buying a property as well as the impact of the advertising campaign. When questioned about what makes an ideal development the five most important characteristics were environmental friendliness, reputation, reliability, affordability and innovation.

Matt Joyce, Managing Director of Waterfront Nakheel said:

"In the past, quality has been one of the most important factors for potential customers. This is the first time we've seen environmental concerns come through this strongly. We are currently working to align our products and services even more closely with this growing demand.

"Waterfront has been designed, like all of Nakheel's projects, with sustainability at its heart. The district of Badrah has an emphasis on green open spaces and is being built as a self-sustainable community with a strong focus on reducing the consumption of energy and water. We see it as a city of the future and are delighted that there is a real demand for this type of development from end-users."

Of those that had seen the advertising campaign, 50 per cent said that the environmental friendliness of the project was the most defining element. Reliability was the second most influencing factor (47 per cent) followed by innovation and healthy living (both 43 per cent).

Badrah will meet the needs of the modern day family and provide an affordable option through intelligent design and value for money. It will be the first active gateway to Waterfront, an entirely new city master-planned from scratch in 'new Dubai'.

There are four areas distinct areas in Badrah, each connected by a central boulevard. Diaa has a high proportion of residential buildings and amenities; Talla has a larger mix of offices; Manara includes educational and civic amenities; and Bahaa focuses on retail and leisure elements.

While designed with sustainability and affordability as key factors, Badrah will be built to very high standards. All buildings will meet LEED (Leadership in Environmental Design Green Building Rating System) ratings performance standard as a minimum. This will result in lower maintenance and running costs as energy and water consumption is substantially decreased.

Architecture blends modern forms that incorporate elements of traditional Arabic design and when completed the Badrah district will offer 45,000 homes.

The survey was conducted through August and September by Nakheel.

A total of 400 people were questioned in face to face interviews.

The group was made up of 200 target audience (25-45 year olds, families and couples with an income of AED 35,000-55,000 from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah) and a control group of 200 (25-65 year olds, open towards real estate advertisements, income more than AED 18,000 from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah).

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About Nakheel
Nakheel is one of the world's largest privately held real estate developers, and a key player in realising the vision of Dubai for the 21st century: creating a world class destination for living, business and tourism.

Nakheel is developing an iconic portfolio of innovative landmark projects in Dubai, and now in key markets around the globe, across a range of sectors - residential, commercial, hotels, retail, and leisure. Nakheel's projects are conservatively estimated to be worth US$80 billion. Upon completion Nakheel's waterfront projects will have added more than 1,000km of shoreline to Dubai's coastline.

Nakheel's Dubai portfolio currently includes Nakheel Harbour & Tower, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, Palm Deira, The World, Waterfront, The Universe, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Heights, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Ibn Battuta Mall, Al Furjan, International City, and Dragon Mart.

Nakheel is a key entity within Dubai World. Dubai World is one of the world's largest holding companies and supervises a portfolio of businesses and projects for the Dubai government across five continents and more than 100 countries.

Further information can be found at www.nakheelmediacentre.com

For more information please contact:
Four Communications
Margaret Flanagan or Rebecca Leach
Nakheel@fourcommunications.com
tel: +971 55 985 3378/77

Nakheel
Anna McGovern,
Senior PR & Communications Executive
+971 50 654 7652
Anna.mcgovern@nakheel.com