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Conniving Dubai tenants trick landlord to hand over security deposit

Dec 30 ,2015, city : Dubai

My previous tenant insisted that I give him the security deposit money before he had handed over the keys to me. I needed the keys for the apartment as the new tenant wanted to move in the very next day. I asked my new tenant to check the property before she took the handover of the key from my previous tenant. She told me that sh... More..

Predictions for 2016: Keep calm, it’s chaos as usual

Dec 29 ,2015, city : Dubai

Market swings have become the norm as 2015 draws to a close. But this has not stopped us from indulging in some forecasting for a year ahead that promises to surprise investors and companies alike – such as the UK exiting the EU and oil reaching $100 again.

Will 2016 be marked by rising interest rates, a wallowing oil... More..

Danube Properties launches affordable homes project in Dubai

Dec 28 ,2015, city : Dubai

Danube Properties on Monday launched its latest residential project – a Dh300 million development in the Al Furjan area of Dubai near Discovery Gardens – targeted at the affordable segment.

The 450-unit Ritz development is Danube’s fifth project following the unveiling of the 171-town house Dreamz in Al Fu... More..

Dubai property: is 2016 the year to invest Dh1m in the rental market?

Dec 25 ,2015, city : Dubai

Is 2016 the best time to invest in Dubai’s property market? I want to invest Dh1 million in a rental property to earn the maximum yield. MH, Dubai

Expert one:

Mario Volpi, property expert and Homefront columnist at The National

To get straight to the poin... More..

Dh54m Dubai villa is a golfer’s dream in Emirates Hills

Dec 24 ,2015, city : Dubai

With one of the largest plots facing onto The Address Montgomerie Dubai, this five bedroom villa is a golfer’s dream.

Set in, arguably, Dubai’s finest freehold development, Emirates Hills, it is on the market for Dh54 million. But the price is not just for the villa, swimming pool, landscaped grounds and views o... More..

Dubai landlord insists tenant pays to fix villa swamped with damp

Dec 23 ,2015, city : Dubai

I have an issue with damp and humidity in my villa. When I moved in two years ago, there was a small amount of peeling paint in the laundry room. We informed the landlord but got no response; we weren’t bothered as it didn’t change, grow or affect us at all. However, over the very humid summer this exploded across 30 p... More..

Al Barari sells 75% of luxury Ashjar apartments despite Dubai slowdown

Dec 22 ,2015, city : Dubai

The real estate sector in Dubai may have softened through 2015 but the developer of Dubai’s Al Barari is claiming to have bucked the trend.

Al Barari’s Ashjar apartments are 75 per cent sold out with completion of the full development not expected until December 2017.

Ashjar means trees in Arabic ... More..

New twist in Dubai’s property data row

Dec 21 ,2015, city : Dubai

Reidin, Dubai’s major property data provider, said yesterday that developers supplied just 9,397 units in 2015 – compared with start-of-the-year projections from other sources that 25,000 units would be handed over.

This is the latest chapter in an argument between property developers and brokerages over the out... More..

Bloom Holding boss keeps the faith in Abu Dhabi’s housing appeal

Dec 21 ,2015, city : Abu Dhabi

Veteran developer Sameh Muhtadi was appointed the chief executive of Bloom Holding in April after a 30-year career at companies including Arabtec, Emaar Properties Misr and Orascom Contrack. Mr Muhtadi has been tasked with overseeing Bloom’s ambitious new projects including delivering Bloom Gardens, a partially completed villa proje... More..

Further pain for UAE homeowners with mortgage rate rises in store

Dec 20 ,2015, city : Abu Dhabi

Home financers are set to come under pressure to raise mortgage costs for the first time since the financial crisis as interbank borrowing rates spike.

It follows the first rate rise by the US Federal Reserve in almost a decade, and a 17 per cent jump in UAE interbank borrowing rates in the past month.

Homeow... More..

10 things to know about Abu Dhabi’s new property law

Dec 18 ,2015, city : Abu Dhabi

The much awaited new real estate law – No. (3) of 2015 Regulating Real Estate Sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi – has now been published, and will take effect as of January 2016. This law is mostly good news for the average person, but as with anything, we will have to see how it is implemented. Here are 10 the most interesti... More..

Dubai’s Damac looks to shake off Trump storm with rental incentive

Dec 17 ,2015, city : Dubai

Damac Properties, the developer caught in a storm over its partnership with the controversial US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, is offering lucrative rental returns on some of its properties to lure investors.

Damac, which said it would stick with Trump International despite his anti-Muslim tirade, is providing a 24 per... More..

Short-term property rentals in Dubai - are they allowed?

Dec 16 ,2015, city : Dubai

What are the rules regarding short-term rentals in Dubai? Some people advertise their units on sites for weekly stays? So, as the owner of an apartment in Dubai, can I rent it out on a short-term basis? AK, Dubai

Anyone who owns residential houses and apartments in Dubai can now rent out their property as holiday homes on a... More..

Sharjah rents on the slide for first time in two years

Dec 14 ,2015, city : Dubai

Sharjah rents have started to fall for the first time in more than two years.

Residential rents in the emirate declined 1.6 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, the brokers Cluttons said in a report.

“Rising supply levels across many areas of Sharjah, coupled with price reductions in Dubai offeri... More..

About 6,000 new homes sitting empty in Dubai amid poor property market conditions

Dec 14 ,2015, city : Dubai

Nearly a third of all the homes expected to be completed in Dubai this year are sitting empty, brokers say.

Poor market conditions and construction delays have been blamed for the situation as brokers slashed their estimates for completions.

According to the property broker CBRE, about 6,000 homes in areas su... More..

Trump signage returns at Akoya site in Dubai

Dec 13 ,2015, city : Dubai

First it was up, then it was down and now it appears to be back again.

The saga of the ever-changing sign featuring Donald Trump at the Akoya site in Dubai continued this week when Damac appeared to have put the Trump branding back up.

Video footage showing the Akoya by Damac and Trump International Golf Club... More..

Arabtec hits back at Egypt housing minister over ‘limited project’

Dec 10 ,2015, city : Dubai

Arabtec, the Dubai contractor, said it is still waiting to hear from Egyptian authorities regarding its huge housing project as it denied reports that its ambitious programme is now “limited”.

The company’s shares were suspended for a short period this morning while a disclosure was made to the Dubai Finan... More..

New luxury Palm Jumeirah properties with wadi-inspired design

Dec 10 ,2015, city : Dubai

If the beach life is for you, then living on what is claimed will be Dubai’s longest private residential beachfront could be the ideal investment.

The 475-metre-long stretch of white sand is a feature of The Alef Residences, an under-construction luxury apartment development on the West Crescent of Palm Jumeirah.
More..

Landlord tells Dubai tenant to face eviction after being duped by property company

Dec 9 ,2015, city : Dubai

I rented an apartment in Dubai in August 2015. This was done through a property management company and according to the law; the company had power of attorney (POA) for the landlord. The lease was paid in cash and I received a receipt, and Dewa and Ejari were both in my name. We found out last week that the property management company had... More..

Comment: Donald Trump was always a dated choice to promote property

Dec 9 ,2015, city : Dubai

In his latest offensive outburst, Donald Trump on Monday called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”. Yet Dubai’s Damac Properties said it stood by its deal for the Trump Organization to operate a golf club under development on the outskirts of the city. His remark drew swift rebukes ... More..

Abu Dhabi tenants seek affordable locations as rents keep rising

Dec 8 ,2015, city : Abu Dhabi

Tenants in Abu Dhabi are rushing to relocate to more affordable locations as the cost of living in the capital continues to rise.

Rents for three-bedroom villas in Hydra Village rose by 32 per cent to Dh125,000 from Dh95,000 a year between January and September, as expatriate families hunted for cheaper deals.

... More..

UAE a bright spot as regional construction industry optimism fades

Dec 7 ,2015, city : Dubai

The UAE will remain a bright spot for the construction industry next year even as a survey showed that geopolitical concerns and lower oil prices will affect sentiment.

The study conducted by the global law firm Pinsent Masons revealed “its sharpest decline in optimism” in connection with market conditions, whic... More..

Aldar’s Hadeel residential project at Al Raha Beach ‘well under way’

Dec 6 ,2015, city : Dubai

Al Fara’a General Contracting is “well under way” with a project to build the latest phase of Aldar Properties’ Al Raha Beach project.

Hadeel will occupy a site next to Aldar’s existing Al Bandar project. It is a 57,000 square metre building on a 10,000 sq metre plot that will have 233 apartmen... More..

Dubai property transactions down almost 50% in some areas but signs of uptick

Dec 6 ,2015, city : Dubai

The number of housing transactions in Dubai may have plummeted this year by nearly half, but analysts say that there are signs of an uptick in some areas.

According to the property data company Reidin, the number of property sales in some parts of the city has fallen by more than 45 per centsince the most recent peak in 201... More..

Experts warn new Dubai statistics law could affect transparency, property sector

Dec 3 ,2015, city : Dubai

A new law that demands companies seek government approval before carrying out surveys in Dubai could damage the property sector and discourage research in the emirate, experts have warned.

The Dubai government announced a law late last month intended to help enable the Dubai Statistics Center “to establish an advanced... More..

Prestigious location and brand add premium to Dh4m Abu Dhabi apartment

Dec 3 ,2015, city : Abu Dhabi

One million US dollars is an awful lot of money.

Dr Evil in the first Austin Powers film may have been sadly out of touch when demanding that sum to ransom the world back in 1997 but in property circles the figure still represents something of a watershed. It separates ordinary housing from the sort of luxury homes many of ... More..

Can Dubai property agent charge 10% commission instead of usual 5%?

Dec 2 ,2015, city : Dubai

What does the law say against agents who charge 10 per cent commission on the rental value instead of 5 per cent? Are they authorised to do so? Can we make a complaint against them? And, if so, how do we do that? AS, Dubai

You raise an interesting point. The first thing I would like to clear up is that there is nothing in l... More..

UAE’s Sager Group puts its stamp on Royal Mail HQ project in London

Dec 1 ,2015, city : Dubai

Sager Group, a London developer cofounded by the UAE’s Sheikh Sagir bin Mohammed, has unveiled plans to transform London’s Royal Mail headquarters into a £400 million (Dh2.21 billion) mixed-use project known as Islington Square.

The 500,000 square feet site in Islington will be opened up with a new public ... More..

Depa to make redundancies as it seeks to trim costs

Dec 1 ,2015, city : Dubai

Dubai’s Depa will cut jobs as it embarks on a restructuring after posting a loss for the third quarter. The fit-out contractor lost Dh22 million in the June to September period compared with a profit of Dh19m a year earlier. Third-quarter revenue also declined by 32 per cent year-on-year to Dh347m.

“Times are to... More..