Latest Real Estate News

Saudi Arabia makes big steps to improve real estate transparency

Jun 29 ,2016, city : Dubai

Saudi Arabia has moved up the rankings to finish in the ‘Semi-Transparent’ category for the first time in the JLL and LaSalle Investment Management’s 2016 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI).

Strong advances over the past two years have seen Saudi Arabia (63rd) and Egypt (65th) move into the &lsq... More..

Mid-tier spot for Dubai in global realty transparency

Jun 28 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai: Dubai and Abu Dhabi have mid-tier rankings among global destinations where real estate laws are rated as being the most transparent and investor-friendly, according to an influential survey by JLL. The cities are ranked 48 and 59 respectively, while Saudi Arabia is at 63rd in the 2016 version of the Global Real Estate Transparency ... More..

Revealed: freehold housing in Dubai to total $272bn by 2022

Jun 27 ,2016, city : Dubai

The value of completed units in Dubai’s freehold housing market has soared by 1,632 percent in the past decade, new research reveals.

In 2006, the market capitalisation for completed freehold units across the emirate was AED28 billion ($7.6 billion), according to Reidin figures compiled by Dubai-based Unitas Consultan... More..

Billionaire investor hopes for fourth time lucky after Dubai setbacks

Jun 27 ,2016, city : Dubai

It has been a case of not third but fourth time lucky for a Nepalese billionaire who has lost millions of dollars investing in Dubai.

Binod Chaudhary, Nepal’s only billionaire, has spent the past 12 years working on property deals in the emirate but each time he has moved forward the local developer has failed to see ... More..

Brexit 'wipes out Gulf real estate gains in London'

Jun 26 ,2016, city : Dubai

Middle Eastern investors eyeing London residential property would benefit from a significant drop in sales prices following Britain’s vote to exit the European Union (EU) whereas existing investors stand to lose out, it has been claimed.

The sharp drop in sterling over the weekend will have “erased” any ga... More..

UAE's Waha Land inks $115m financing deal for industrial expansion

Jun 23 ,2016, city : Dubai

Waha Land, a wholly-owned company of Waha Capital has signed a AED426 million ($115.9 million) financing package with Emirates Islamic Bank for further development of its Almarkaz light industrial real estate project near Abu Dhabi.

Following the successful leasing of existing facilities, phase 2 will add an additional 187,... More..

Court ruling allows for more refunds for off-plan investors in Dubai

Jun 22 ,2016, city : Dubai

A landmark ruling by the Dubai Court of Cassation will reportedly allow off-plan property investors to claim full refund under certain conditions.

If a property purchaser’s sale and purchase agreement is terminated for non-payment and the property is re-sold by the developer without a court order, the purchaser can no... More..

Dubai, Abu Dhabi see marginal average rent rises during May

Jun 21 ,2016, city : Dubai

Real estate markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi witnessed marginal growth in property prices during May, according to a new report by Bayut.

Compared to April, average apartment rents in Dubai grew 1.57 percent in May, while average rental yields remained at 5.3 percent, the report said.

It added that the average ... More..

Expats allowed to buy land at Dubai World Central

Jun 21 ,2016, city : Dubai

UAE expats can now buy land at Dubai World Central (DWC), Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has announced.

The resolution grants expats the right to absolute ownership, with no time frame, of land and property in DWC plots 205, 206 and 207. It also gives ... More..

Dubai: '20% drop in realty transactions in 2015'

Jun 20 ,2016, city : Dubai

“Dubai is not directly impacted by oil prices, but indirectly we really are because of the investment sentiment,” a senior expert said.

“We have seen an overall transaction volume of both land and property sales reducing by 20 percent in 2015, and that is still happening," Erik Volkers, associate dire... More..

'The Tower' at Dubai Creek Harbour to emit a 'beacon of light'

Jun 16 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai’s new 928m tallest tower will emit a ‘beacon of light’ from its peak at night, the engineering company working on the project has revealed.

Once completed, Emaar Properties’ Dubai Creek Harbour tower project, known simply as ‘The Tower’, will be 100 metres taller than the Burj Khali... More..

'Off-plan developers cannot impose extra costs on investors after sale', declares RERA chief

Jun 16 ,2016, city : Dubai

Real estate developers are not allowed to raise the cost of off-plan units on handover even if they increased in size during construction, Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) said this week.

RERA moved to clarify the legal position on off-plan transactions after Arabian Business revealed that a Dubai-based... More..

Overseas realty investors not jittery over UK vote

Jun 15 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai: When it comes to trying to win a vote, real estate can have its uses.

Or so the UK Chancellor George Osborne believes, going by his statement last month that Britain’s home prices could crash by as much as 18 per cent if the Brexit referendum delivers a “Yes” on leaving the European Union. Whether... More..

Dubai Land Department debuts portal for surveyors

Jun 13 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai: Property survey companies need not make the trek to the Dubai Land Department offices any longer — they can do their paperwork online. The government agency has launched a new e-system that allows licenced survey companies to feed in data into its database.

The new system will replace paper-based processes with... More..

Premium is what will drive Dubai realty

Jun 13 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai:Demand for high-end residential property in Dubai will remain stable right through the end of the decade, while it will be less so for the affordable options, according to an outlook by the consultancy Core.

“The relative resilience of prices in most of the established ultra-prime areas is an interesting aspect ... More..

Dubai property price declines 'to accelerate in coming months'

Jun 12 ,2016, city : Dubai

The fall in Dubai property values and rents is set to continue over the summer, despite some predictions that the market has bottomed out, a local expert has warned.

In its latest research note, Phidar Advisory said that since Dubai rents peaked in May 2014, the market had declined by an average of -0.3 percent.

More..

Alubond stops making plastic-filled cladding used in The Address Downtown Dubai

Jun 12 ,2016, city : Dubai

The company that supplied the facade cladding of the Dubai hotel that erupted in a blaze on New Year’s Eve has scrapped the manufacture of plastic-filled panels.

Alubond, the world’s largest maker of aluminium composite panels and the company that supplied The Address Downtown Dubai, ... More..

Damac releases units in sharia-compliant hotel apartments project

Jun 11 ,2016, city : Dubai

Damac Properties has announced a limited release in Ghalia, a Sharia-compliant hotel apartments development in Dubai, following a sold-out phase one.

The developer said in a statement that Ghalia offers the first certified Sharia-compliant serviced hotel apartments, with construction already underway, and will be operated... More..

Dubai developers selling out projects thick and fast

Jun 10 ,2016, city : Dubai

Contrary to the belief of the summer month slowing down real estate sales in Dubai, three developers have said that they have sold out their projects or their inventory at the launch date.

Dubai Properties, the development arm of Dubai Properties Group, has claimed that 100 units released in the first building of Bellevue... More..

Saudi Arabia's final tax rules on undeveloped land in two weeks

Jun 9 ,2016, city : Dubai

Saudi Arabia will announce the final regulations on an annual tax on undeveloped urban land in two weeks, the housing minister said on Wednesday.

“Land fees are now complete and have been studied by all concerned entities and within the next two weeks, we will announce it," Majed Al Hogail said at a press confere... More..

Dubai's Emaar said to mull international bond issue

Jun 8 ,2016, city : Dubai

Emaar Properties, the developer of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, is reportedly considering an international bond issue in the second half of the year.

Bloomberg cited three people familiar with the matter as saying that the real estate company is appointing advisers for the dollar-denominated sale.

It said no fin... More..

Danube says $81m Dubai affordable project 'sold out'

Jun 8 ,2016, city : Dubai

Danube Properties has announced that its sixth project - Glamz Residence - a AED300 million ($81 million) development in Dubai's Al Furjan area targeted at the affordable housing sector has been sold out.

The project, which was launched last month, offers a selection of 418 studio, one- bedroom and two- bedroom apartm... More..

The Tower at Dubai Creek to be 100m higher than Burj Khalifa

Jun 7 ,2016, city : Dubai

The new tower being built at Dubai Creek Harbour by Emaar Properties will be 100 metres taller than Burj Khalifa, according to Mohamed Alabbar, the Emaar Properties chairman.

Mr Alabbar has said that work will start on the project to build the tower next month, according to CNN. Designed by the S... More..

Dubai sees 'clear trend' of plateau in real estate prices in May

Jun 6 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai's real estate sector saw a "clear trend" of a plateau in prices during May, signalling further signs of a bottoming out in the market, a new report said on Monday.

The May 2016 ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) said it also witnessed minor price uplifts and notable increased transaction volumes in several lo... More..

Dubai Properties sells first phase of Business Bay development in one day

Jun 5 ,2016, city : Dubai

Dubai Properties has sold all units launched for sale in its Business Bay development Bellevue Towers on the first day.

Dubai-based real estate master developer and manager launched sales on the two-tower development, located close to the waterfront in Business Bay, on Saturday.

Around 100 units were reserved b... More..

Penthouse living in Dubai’s answer to Manhattan

Jun 2 ,2016, city : Dubai

This is the penthouse that shows how Dubai’s property sector has come of age. Penthouses no longer have to ostentatiously flout their superiority, their selling point simply has to be their view, location and desirability.

This uptown penthouse in the Old Town district of Downtown Dubai is ... More..

Middle East the world’s costliest market for construction disputes

Jun 1 ,2016, city : Abu Dhabi

The Middle East has become the world’s costliest market for construction disputes, with fallouts between contractors and clients involving bigger cases than anywhere else in the world, according to construction consultancy Arcadis.

The firm said that the average value of disputes in the Mid... More..

Dubai tenant who was victim of rent scam has to move out with no refund

Jun 1 ,2016, city : Dubai

I have been the victim of a rent scam in Dubai. I rented a flat in February this year through an agent whose ad I found on Dubizzle. The agent had a valid Rera card. I made a one-cheque payment for the flatMore..