Mark Wallington's Blog: All Categories

Even before the property downturn here in Dubai, the government was already looking at ways it could further reinforce the legal aspects of the freehold property market, something that has now gained increased importance with the sudden price drops seen across all Dubai real estate. Many see the role that speculative buyers have played as being a key reason for the current property prices drop. The overheating of the freehold real estate market and prices increases witness based purely on speculative buying clearly have played a large role and as such new legislation has been implemented to limit this in future. But with investor confidence at an all time low, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) here in Dubai has certainly been busy of late, and has…

What started off as whispers a few months back has now been accepted as fact, the Dubai property market is undergoing a large downturn. It was always thought that the Dubai property market would be immune from such an experience, and if it was to happen it was seen as most likely in a few years when all of Dubai’s under construction property reached completion and came to market. But here we are in 2009 and the immediate outlook for Dubai property looks decidedly dicey. Many sellers want out as soon as possible, worried that the money they have made on their Dubai properties so far may soon be eroded if prices continue to fall. Many buyers understandably don’t want to buy now due to the uncertainty and those that do want to buy Dubai properties for the…

The Dubai freehold real estate property boom saw prices all across the board increase a huge amount, residential or commercial, villa or apartment: all property witnessed incredible returns for investors. However one area saw returns that exceeded the already large premiums being generated throughout Dubai, and that was luxury Dubai villas! With the limited land available within Dubai, villas are always going to be a sought after commodity. Providing a great life style, and being particularly suitable for families, villa prices started to increase quickly and it was not long before 200% premiums on homes were being seen. Areas like the Palm Jumeirah with its Signature Villas and Garden Homes, and Emirates Hills were all commanding large prices tags when…

Dubai property laws have had to undergo large and sometimes rapid changes since the opening up of the market to foreigners in 2002. It is probably fair to say at that time the legal framework was somewhat unclear and in some cases downright confusing! As the property market here has taken off and grown, the legal aspects have also been forced to adapt to keep up. Whilst at times there may have been some problems, for the most part the legal side of things here has been able to provide adequate structure and order for all real estate deals to go ahead. The Dubai government has often changed and adapted the laws and regulations in the Dubai freehold real estate market in order to allow the market to function in the best possible way. And recently the Real…

The old mantra of buying low selling high is usual the way to success when it comes to investing, but how does this apply to Dubai properties at the current time? After all Dubai is a place that has witnessed incredible success in such a short period of time, and has seen things turn for the worse even quicker. The speed of the property downturn this autumn took everyone by surprise, and as a result there is a large amount uncertainly pervading throughout the property market at present. The question of whether to buy or not buy Dubai real estate does certainly not come down to a question of property options or availability as Dubai is currently flooded with a wide range of homes that can be purchased. However despite this and despite the large and rapid…

With the announcement that even the mighty Nakheel properties, Dubai’s largest developer, had slowed down some of its under construction projects due to finance issues and the current world economic problems; many people who have invested in property planned for completion in the next few years have become understandably nervous as to the fate of their proposed home. And let’s not mistake, it is not just Nahkeel who have taken this course of action. Emaar and a good number of other developers have had to temporary put on hold, and in some case cancel projects due to a lack of finance and reduction in interested buyers. In this situation many buyers have been fearing the worst, so it is good news that another Dubai real estate developer has come out to…

Damac properties has certainly become one of Dubai’s largest and most popular developers in the past few years and now looks to be reaping the rewards. The developer, who has made its name by building a huge range of luxury apartments throughout Dubai, has just announced AED 500 million profits for the first 9 months of 2008. Damac dubbed 2008 as its ‘year of construction’ and the company has been making a large commitment to successful contract and building delivery. With projects already throughout the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt plus with projects soon to get underway in India and Morocco Damac is a company on the up. And even the current real estate slump isn’t giving them too much cause for concern. Damac believe the property correction…

Once Dubai has set its sights on something, rarely does it come up short. Both in terms of becoming a tourism hot spot and creating some of the most innovative and sought after freehold property, Dubai has met with huge success and has achieved an impressive amount in a very short space of time. So when you hear Dubai has now firmly locked its focus onto becoming the business hub of the Middle East and beyond, you really ought to take notice. In fact this is something Dubai has been building towards for quite some time now. Commercial real estate in Dubai is always in big demand, something which Dubai real estate developers have been steadily addressing. Dubai can already boast some magnificent commercial property, with Business Bay, Jumeirah Lake Tower…