Damac to handover 6 big projects in 2010

Damac Properties, a leading developer in the region, has announced that 2010 will be the year of handovers – with more than six projects due to be completed in Dubai during the next 12 months.

Among those to be handed over are two phases of the company’s Emirates Gardens development and Tuscan Residences at Jumeirah Village South, Lago Vista at IMPZ, XL Tower and Business Tower at Business Bay and Smart Heights at Tecom.

The six projects together offer a good mix of both residential and commercial units – with over 3,000 new units due to be delivered this year. The handover follows the tremendous construction progress achieved in 2009, which was the year of construction at Damac, said its top official.

'This year will be a significant one for the company as it built on its standing as a private developer that was continuing to show progress and delivery. 2010 will be an exciting year for us as we conclude a number of our projects in Dubai,' remarked Hussain Sajwani, Damac Properties chairman.

“This shows that the decisions we have made and the priorities we have focused on during 2009 have paid off for our customers who can now look forward to taking delivery of their units. I would also like to thank all those contractors who have worked with us during these tough times to ensure that we have been able to meet our obligations,” he added.

In addition, it is expected that Ocean Heights - the company’s 84 storey flagship development at Dubai Marina - will also be complete by the end of the year which would round off a potentially great year for the company.

‘We have very high hopes and expectations for 2010 and are firmly focused now on looking ahead - leaving the last year and all its difficulties behind us. We know that there will of course still be tough challenges in the market place but we feel that we have very clear goals in sight and we will be doing our utmost to meet those targets,’Sajwani stated.

The awarding of new contracts, he said, was all part of company's strategy to ensure that there was business continuity and activity at a variety of levels within the company’s portfolio of developments.

‘The start of a new year always brings a renewed sense of purpose but we feel that 2010 will see us reach some significant milestones that we can look forward to with certainty which is pleasing for us and our customers,’ Sajwani added.

Source: TradeArabia

New law promises property refunds in Dubai

Dubai is considering a new property draft law which would enable property buyers to cancel their contract and claim a refund if the project is ‘unfeasible’.

Details of the new protection for homebuyers came in a newsletter from leading legal firm Al Tamimi and Co which says the new law will spell out ground rules for cancellations, most notably if a developer refuses to link payments to stages to construction or if the developer makes major specification changes.

The law also deals with the issue of refunds or replacement properties in case of defects in the property and financial penalty for major delays in delivery.

Source: Gulfnews

Dubai ready to host UN headquarters

Dubai said on Friday it has offered to host the headquarters of the United Nations should the global organization want to leave New York, a sign the Gulf emirate's ambitions remain high despite its debt problems.

'The government of Dubai announces that it is fully prepared to host UN headquarters on its territory in the event its officials take the decision to move from New York,' the Dubai government said a statement.

Dubai's offer comes days after an article by an academic and a real estate developer on the website of Forbes magazine called for the United Nations to relocate to Dubai.

'Bringing the United Nations to Dubai makes sense,' wrote Joel Kotkin, a fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, and Robert J. Cristiano, the California University’s 'real estate professional in residence'.

'New York gets rid of one of its worst welfare cheats, and Dubai finds new tenants to fill its vacant towers,' they said, describing the UN headquarters as a 'pain in the butt' which 'pays no taxes and annoys hard-working New Yorkers with its sloth, pretensions and cavalier disregard for traffic laws'.

Dubai, which has gained worldwide attention for its extravagant real estate projects, left global markets reeling in November when it said it would request a standstill agreement on billions of dollars of debt.

The global financial crisis saw many real estate projects delayed or shelved in the emirate, but construction has barely stopped and new projects are still coming on line, raising questions on how the buildings will be filled in the downturn.

Earlier this month, Dubai's ruler inaugurated the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
'Dubai has already built something that looks the part of a 21st-century world capital,' Kotkin and Cristiano wrote. 'Let it get a cast appropriate for its glittering set.'

Source: Reuters

Burj Khalifa to boost Emaar revenues

Dubai's Emaar Properties said on Thursday that revenues stemming from the sale of units at Burj Khalifa, the recently-opened, world's tallest tower, will boost the company's 2010 revenues.

Emaar, 31.2 percent owned by the Dubai government, is the Arab world's largest listed developer. It posted third-quarter revenue of 1.95 billion dirham.

"As Emaar recognizes revenue and profits on delivery of the project, the revenue relating to the units sold in Burj Khalifa will be recognized in 2010 on delivery," according to a statement posted on the Dubai bourse website.

"This will positively impact the results of the company due to the large size of the project," it added.Burj Khalifa, formerly called Burj Dubai and renamed after the ruler of Dubai's neighbor Abu Dhabi, opened to much fanfare on January 4, as the emirate is still struggling with a multi-billion debt pile.

Emaar executives at the opening of the tower were bullish, saying that Dubai's property prices have stabilized and that new property completions would continue to increase over the next 18 months.

Emaar has a joint venture with Italian luxury company Georgio Armani to develop hotels around the world, including one at the Burj Khalifa."This additional revenue will also positively affect the company's performance," Emaar said.

Source: Reuters

Dubai ruler issues new decree on rentals

A decree setting the maximum allowed increase in property rent values in Dubai during 2010 has been issued by the Dubai Ruler.

The decree, issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, aims at ensuring the stability of Dubai's property market, according to a WAM News Agency report.

For properties rented in 2009 and before, the maximum increase in rent value shall be set as per the previous relevant similar decree for 2009.

The decree approves the Real Estate Regulatory Authority's (RERA) price index which shall be followed as the reference for setting any increase in rent values in 2010.

The new decree prevents any increase in rent values as long as they are less by a maximum of 25 per cent than the average rents of properties of similar specifications.

The maximum allowed rental increases shall be as follows: - 5 per cent increase if the rent value is 26 per cent to 35 per cent less than the average rent of properties of similar specifications.

-10 per cent increase if the rent value is 36 per cent to 45 per cent less than the average rent of properties of similar specifications.

15 per cent increase if the rent value is 46 per cent to 55 per cent less than the average rent of properties of similar specifications.

-20 per cent increase if the rent value is less by a percentage that is more than 55 per cent of the average rent of properties of similar specifications.

The decree goes into immediate effect and shall be published in the official gazette.

The decree also defines a new formula for lower rent values which allows a proportional increase in rents for 2009. According to the new formula, the increase in property rent will rise in proportion with the drop in 2008 rent value in the average annual rent for the same property.

Source: Trade Arabia News

Official opening of iconic Burj Dubai announced

The Burj Dubai will be opened on January 4, 2010, coinciding with the accession to power of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The 160-plus storey structure is considered the world's tallest building.

Mohammad Ali Al Abbar, Chairman of Emaar real estate company said the company decided to launch the tower on this date as a gesture of gratitude towards Shaikh Mohammad, who is considered the builder of modern Dubai.

Burj Dubai became the tallest building in the world in just 1,276 days, with the help of more than 5,000 consultants and skilled construction workers.

Work on the Burj Dubai started in January 2004. The tower reached 100 levels in January 2007. A month later, it surpassed the Sears Tower in Chicago as the building with the most floors in the world.

Burj Dubai is now the world's tallest building and tallest man-made structure, having surpassed the height of the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, USA.

The Burj Dubai houses residences and commercial spaces, apart from Giorgio Armani's The Armani Hotel & Residences.

It also anchors Downtown Burj Dubai, a Dh73 billion mixed-use mega project, already a bustling community described as the new "heart of the city".

Source: Gulf News

Dar Al-Arkan unveils $2bn Jeddah project

Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Co, Saudi Arabia's largest developer by market value, will spend 7.5 billion riyals ($2 billion) over a period of five years on a new residential project in Jeddah. Construction on the new integrated project, which will have more than 10,000 units and leisure and shopping facilities, as well as schools, will begin in 2010, the company said in a statement posted on the bourse website.

"The company focuses its investments on areas where there is a wide gap between supply and demand," it said.

The first phase of the so-called Shams El-Arouss property project will cost 1.5 billion riyals and will involve the construction of 2,000 housing units, the company said. It did not say when this first phase would be completed. Dar Al-Arkan will seek loans to help finance the project.

"The project will be financed from mixed formulae that include revenues from the project, cash flow from the company's operations and external financing," it said. Dar Al-Arkan reported on Saturday a 14.4 percent drop in third-quarter net profit due to what is said was a slowdown in the property market.

Saudi property developers, comprised mainly of private firms, are not as well-organized as some of their peers in the region, due mainly to mortgages being unaffordable for ordinary Saudis, as a lack of legislation means banks are reluctant to issue such financing. Saudi real estate is still the subject of great interest from regional and international investors who are drawn to the kingdom's rapidly growing population and the cash-laden government's efforts to reduce a rising housing deficit.

About 30 percent of Saudis own a home and US consultancy Clayton Holdings -- which is helping set up mortgage lenders in Saudi Arabia -- estimated in 2009 that the kingdom has a deficit of 2 million residential units rising by 200,000 annually. - Reuters

Source: Trade Arabia