Latest Real Estate News

UAE property to be hampered by lack of bank funding, says JLL

Jan 26 ,2016, city : Dubai

Developers in the GCC will struggle to raise bank funding for new projects this year as liquidity tightens across the region, according to the JLL ­consultancy.

It highlighted the lack of bank funding as the main trend to affect property markets across the UAE in 2016.

Citing worsening bank results for th... More..

The ten big burning legal questions of The Address Downtown Dubai fire

Jan 24 ,2016, city : Dubai

Key legal questions arising from the new year’s eve blaze are answered by construction and property lawyers Michael Lunjevich and Anthony Edwards of Dubai-based law firm Hadef & Partners.

Should apartment owners be worried about their liability for facade fires?

One of the main issu... More..

Owners of Dubai high-rises urged to check insurance after The Address Downtown fire

Jan 24 ,2016, city : Dubai

DUBAI // Owners of high-rise homes in Dubai have been urged to examine their building insurance policies before an expected barrage of litigation over the New Year’s Eve fire at The Address Downtown.

As a result of the fire, authorities ordered checks on every building, amid suggestions that the aluminium composite pa... More..

Dubai property sector to benefit from increased budget spending

Jan 24 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai’s property markets are likely to move back into growth by the end of the year, underpinned by its expansionary budget, according to a new study.

A report from ReidIn/Global Capital Partners said that Dubai’s 12 per cent budget increase will serve as a fiscal stimulus.

That contrasts with its... More..

Cladding issues could mess with Dubai property market after The Address fire

Jan 22 ,2016, city : Dubai

How will the fire at The Address affect property prices in Dubai?

Nobody can be exactly sure how The Address fire on New Year’s Eve will affect Dubai property prices. But as high-rise building freehold owners and insurance experts become increasingly nervous about the cost implications of a government survey of all pr... More..

Dubai villa oversupply leads to 18% drop in prices at The Springs

Jan 21 ,2016, city : Dubai

Sale prices of villas at The Springs community in Dubai have dropped by 18 per cent over the past year as buyers have opted for cheaper, newly completed stock in secondary communities such as Jumeirah Village Triangle and Al Furjan, according to Cavendish Maxwell.

The company’s fourth-quarter 2015 Dubai residential ma... More..

Dh179m Dubai villa set to be Emirates Hills’ most expensive – in pictures

Jan 21 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai is a city known for huge ostentatious villas and, with aspirations as the “Beverly Hills of Dubai”, Emirates Hills is a neighbourhood full of just such palatial abodes.

But this 10-bedroom home, which takes up two full-sized villa plots at the prestigious gated community, makes many of its plush neighbours... More..

Work begins on $1bn ICD Brookfield Place tower in DIFC

Jan 20 ,2016, city : Dubai

The joint venture between Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) and Brookfield Property Partners has broken ground on its US$1 billion development within Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) district.

The 54-storey, 282 metre-high ICD Brookfield Place, which has been designed by the British architects Foster + Partne... More..

Dubai tenant ‘ordered to pay Dh70,000 after property firm fled country’

Jan 20 ,2016, city : Dubai

My friend and I paid a guy a full year’s rent for rooms in an Al Barsha hotel as he had a real estate company and a contract with the hotel. After six months the hotel called us and locked us out of our rooms and called the police. The police came and said the hotel needed a court order to evict us. We did not hear from them... More..

Aldar acquires Daman House in Abu Dhabi

Jan 19 ,2016, city : Abu Dhabi

Aldar Properties has bought the Abu Dhabi office tower that is home to the national insurance company Daman as part of a­ Dh3 billion investment plan.

Abu Dhabi’s largest listed property developer acquired Daman House in Abu Dhabi’s Capital Centre district close to the city’s exhibition centre as part ... More..

Dubai Parks and Resorts leases nearly two thirds of Riverland part of theme park

Jan 18 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai Parks and Resorts has let almost two-thirds of the available space at the Riverland element of its multi-theme park site.

The company — a spin-off from Meraas Holding which raised Dh2.5 billion via a flotation on the Dubai Financial Market in December 2014 — said that it exceeded its own letting targets fo... More..

Dubai Land Department says property investment grows

Jan 18 ,2016, city : Dubai

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has said that the amount and value of money put into Dubai’s real estate market from all of its main source markets increased in 2015.

The department said that the amount of real estate investment transactions in Dubai last year exceeded Dh135 billion, which was 24 per cent higher than ... More..

Dubai developers Emaar, Damac to build almost 2,000 new apartments

Jan 17 ,2016, city : Dubai

Two of Dubai’s biggest developers are pressing ahead with plans to develop almost 2,000 new apartments despite weakening property sentiment.

Emaar said on Sunday that it would start selling 750 apartments and 14 villas at its planned twin tower Harbour Views project in Dubai Creek Harbour next to the Ras Al Khor bird ... More..

Manazel launches retail arm to manage malls

Jan 17 ,2016, city : Abu Dhabi

Manazel Real Estate, an Abu Dhabi-based developer of affordable housing, has set up a subsidiary to operate and manage malls and retail units.

The company said the subsidiary, Manazel Malls, will run its three-storey, 60,000-square metre Capital Mall in Mohammed bin Zayed City alongside retail areas in Al Reef and Al Reef 2... More..

Eagle Hills project could boost Bahrain GDP by 4%

Jan 14 ,2016, city : Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi-based developer Eagle Hills has said its Marassi Al Bahrain project will involve an investment of $3 billion – and could provide a boost of as much as 4 per cent to Bahrain’s GDP.

The company also said that it intends by March to appoint contractors to build the first phase of the project, which wi... More..

Emaar starts work on Dubai Creek Residences

Jan 13 ,2016, city : Dubai

Emaar Properties says it has commenced work on its Dubai Creek Residences project in Dubai Creek Harbour.

The Dubai developer has awarded the construction contract for the project to Al Basti & Muktha, which has previously worked on developments that include the Old Town District of Downtown Dubai.

Dubai ... More..

Many new Dubai homes won’t be delivered on time in 2016, JLL says

Jan 12 ,2016, city : Dubai

The number of residential properties completed in Dubai last year was just 7,800 — considerably below the 25,000 units that had been forecasted by developers at the start of 2015, says JLL.

The property consultancy said in its annual UAE real estate market review that materialisation rates — ie the number of hom... More..

Lack of cash a bigger deterrent to Dubai property investors than oversupply fears

Jan 12 ,2016, city : Dubai

Too much attention is paid to estimated property completions in Dubai and it is of little interest to investors eyeing returns, says one real estate consultancy.

Although a large supply of new homes has a direct effect on the rental market, it is “fallacy” to believe that such numbers will drive sale prices down... More..

Arabtec awarded Dh2bn contract to build 1,017 villas on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island

Jan 11 ,2016, city : Abu Dhabi

Arabtec won a Dh2 billion contract from Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties to build 1,017 villas on Yas Island.

Arabtec said that the completed villas will have a built-up area of close to 440,000 square metres and that construction is set to start on site immediately.

Rumours about this deal first emerged la... More..

Property agents bait Dubai homebuyers with ‘distress’ deals

Jan 9 ,2016, city : Dubai

A number of agencies in Dubai are marketing properties as “distress sales” in Dubai in a bid to drum up interest in what remains a sluggish market.

Last week, The National received an email blast from the Dubai-based agency Homes4-Life marketing a town house in phase 2 of Dubai Properties’ Mudon project. T... More..

Has the fall in Dubai property prices come to an end?

Jan 9 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai’s residential property market is showing signs of plateauing after about 18 months of price decline.

New figures from the consultancy ValuStrat show that there was “no significant change” in values of apartments and villas in the 26 areas that it monitored in December. It said that its ValuStrat Pric... More..

What to expect from the Abu Dhabi property market in 2016

Jan 8 ,2016, city : Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi real estate sector was something of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde last year. Sales prices have been flat since the last quarter of 2014, but leasing failed to read the script and was up by as much as 7 per cent in some areas last year, according to JLL – although that is still much reduced from the pace in 2013 and 2014. What ... More..

Reach for the sky at Dh16m Reem Island penthouse

Jan 7 ,2016, city : Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi’s skyline has changed dramatically in recent years – most notably at Reem Island, where so many buildings are being erected that it looks like someone is attempting to create a forest made from glass and steel towers.

For lovers of the high life, one apartment on the market in Aldar Properties’ S... More..

Most Dubai towers built before 2012 ‘have non fire-rated exterior panels’

Jan 6 ,2016, city : Dubai

The companies that made and installed the exterior panels on The Address Downtown Dubai hotel say that most of the towers built in the city prior to 2012 used non-fire-rated exterior cladding.

The disclosure comes as investigators probe the causes of the spectacular blaze which was beamed across millions of TV screens world... More..

Dubai still a relatively cheap place to build, says Arcadis

Jan 6 ,2016, city : Dubai

Government and private sector clients have an opportunity to commission new buildings at bargain rates, according to Arcadis.

The company’s latest International Construction Costs 2016 report states that Dubai remains a relatively cheap place to build. It is ranked 18th worldwide in a list of 44 major cities, meaning ... More..

Abu Dhabi tenant wants to break contract after maintenance nightmare

Jan 6 ,2016, city : Dubai

We have rented a place in Abu Dhabi for a year, however maintenance is non- existent. We often have broken AC and no water in the whole villa. We have had no hot water for two months and a main gate that is broken which has not been fixed for four months. I have been trying to call the landlord to fix it, yet nothing has been done... More..

Insurance premiums in focus after The Address Downtown Dubai fire

Jan 5 ,2016, city : Dubai

Insurers are set to review building premiums after the New Year’s Eve blaze at The Address Downtown Dubai.

The fire at the hotel was the latest in a string of building blazes in Dubai last year, including ones at The Torch Tower at Dubai Marina in February and the Regal office tower in Business Bay in November.
... More..

Most Dubai towers built before 2012 ‘have non fire-rated exterior panels’

Jan 4 ,2016, city : Dubai

The companies that made and installed the exterior panels on The Address Downtown Dubai hotel say that most of the towers built in the city prior to 2012 used non-fire-rated exterior cladding.

The disclosure comes as investigators probe the causes of the spectacular blaze which was beamed across millions of TV screens world... More..

Riyadh property group launches Mada Residences project in Dubai

Jan 4 ,2016, city : Dubai

Riyadh-based construction and property group Abdul Rahman Saad Al-Rashid & Sons has launched its first major property project in Dubai.

The group is to build a residential apartment block known as Mada Residences in Downtown Dubai containing 193 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units.

Al Rashid is a 59... More..

Dubai entrepreneur takes property selling a stage further

Jan 3 ,2016, city : Dubai

Mathieu Nakkach was attending home viewings in the most exclusive areas of Dubai when he noticed something was badly wrong with the way many properties were being presented.

Some of the houses, which cost Dh30 million and up, were empty. A few had cockroaches on the floor, yellow grass on the lawn or unfilled pools. Many di... More..

Emaar shares tumble in first day of trading for 2016

Jan 2 ,2016, city : Dubai

The UAE’s stock markets were down as they opened for the first time in 2016.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 0.5 per cent on Sunday, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index lost 0.8 per cent.

The kickoff of trading for the year came three days after a fire ravaged The Address... More..

Emaar brand faces uphill battle after The Address Downtown Dubai fire

Jan 2 ,2016, city : Dubai

The New Year’s Eve fire at The Address Downtown Dubai hotel has left its owner, Emaar Properties, with a task ahead to avoid any damage to its brand that might follow the negative publicity it generated worldwide.

Dubai itself, though receiving widespread praise locally for the manner in which the civil authorities de... More..