Thinking of buying a property in Dubai but not sure where?

If you look across the city of Dubai, there’s freehold property popping up all over the place, but where is the right place to buy? This all depends on what type of property you want to buy, an apartment or villa, as villas are at present in a limited area, and apartments are everywhere it seems, here are a few general districts that property buyers might want to consider before they buy:

The waterfront option

There are some great properties for sale, either near the waterside, on right on the beach. For all those people with plenty to spend, the Palm Jumeirah is close to completion, and most residents have already moved in. With homes right on the beach, and a great variety of apartments and townhomes on the trunk, everything you need is right here. Amenities and hotels are being constructed now and soon will be open to more and more people. If you can wait a while, then the Palm Jebel Ali is also under construction a few kilometres down the coastline. For apartment buyers, the Dubai Marina is full of various sub-developments of interest, including the original Emaar project and even the Jumeirah Beach Residence, which is right on the beachfront! The choice is yours really, and all these properties cover a variety of prices.

In the middle of the city

Early freehold was restricted to being outside the city, but now there are a number of developments right in the middle of it. Burj Downtown is probably the most recognisable of these, offering a mixture of styles in apartment living with the best facilities possible. Just next-door is Business Bay, which will combine residential and commercial space into one great community next to the creek. On the other side of the city is Festival City, a massive development that will offer entertainment next to luxury living in a variety of exclusive apartments.

Further inland

More and more property developments are being used to extend the city further inland, and these include the established Emirates Living Community and adjacent developments, but most prominently, Dubailand will move the heart of the city. This project will be where there is nothing but deserts now, but many areas, which have been deserted, have seen a massive turnaround from freehold projects. For villas, the Emirates Living Community includes a mix of villas from Emaar, and is the biggest freehold residential area now. Dubai land is set to feature numerous freehold villa sub-developments, which will interest buyers, but again these are several years away from completion.

The great thing about buying in Dubai is that you can live anywhere, by the sea, on the sea (waterhomes on the Palm Jebel Ali), in the city, or way above it by living in Burj Dubai Tower. For buyers that want to live in the new Dubai district, there will be many developments there over the next few years.

Emaar today and Nakheel tomorrow

The current property market in Dubai has opened up to introduce new developmenters such as Omniyat, Damac, Vakson and Schon. Theses developers are certainly making their mark on the industry with a variety of single developments and sub-developments within larger projects. However, as the market stands now, there are two leading developers that continue to dominate the construction of freehold property in Dubai and these are Emaar properties and Nakheel properties.

Emaar, the developer that started it all

The flagship developer of freehold property was certainly Emaar, which announced the Dubai Marina project first, and then released the first finished development with The Greens. Since these humble beginnings, Emaar has branched out to add to its already impressive stand within the freehold market, and it is currently responsible for the hugely ambitious Burj Downtown development, including the Burj Tower itself, the tallest building in the world. Other popular Emaar projects include The Meadows, The Springs, The Lakes and Emaar Towers. Emaar also has its own branch of financier, Amlak, that previously was the only company to offer mortgages in the market, but now faces competition from a number of international banks in the United Arab Emirates.

Nakheel, leading the way of the future

Nakheel has followed on from Emaar by creating a large number of freehold projects that are more spread across the market, including retail complexes, luxury property and more budget property. Nakheel is most recognised globally as the developer responsible for the Palm trilogy, the first of which is almost complete, and The World. Nakheel has undertaken the difficult task of adding some unique projects onto the Dubai property market, as well as some much-needed cheaper property to bridge the gap between who can afford to own a home here. With International City and Jumeirah Village proving popular with investors, Nakheel is starting to dominate the property market and is set to do so into the next few years with The Waterfront project, Palm Jebel Ali, Palm Deira, and of course, finishing The World and Palm Jumeirah.

The Future of Dubai property

While Emaar and Nakheel will continue to have the most impact on the Dubai property market, there are other new and exciting smaller projects that anyone looking to invest should pay attention to as these can often be cheaper than the more commercialised offerings. The property market is predicted to slow down in the future, but as some projects are expected to extend even as far as 2018, we will see new and exciting developments for years to come.

How to give your well earned savings that extra boost!

Most Dubai residents are here to save their money, which would be harder back in their home countries, but increasing rents and increasing costs of living are starting to have significant drawbacks on the Dubai lifestyle and levels of savings, especially the former reason. Don’t just let your savings dwindle, put more of your money away, or put your savings to a good cause and buy your own Dubai property!

Save more by owning your own home in Dubai

The biggest drain on savings is the cost of renting accommodation in Dubai; it’s just too high! This is a stark contrast from a few years ago, when property was more affordable to rent and most people reported high saving rates. Now, only two years later, even high earners are feeling the strains of renting property here, and some rents have increased several fold in such a short space of time. For this reason, more and more Dubai residents are investing in their own freehold property, as they realise it’s better to pay out a monthly amount in mortgage than to pay out the same, or even more in rent that doesn’t get you anything for your money. Using your savings for a property means you are investing your savings, not losing them to rent, and you have a great place to live as well.

If you have the funds, why not do some renting of your own

Despite the high rental rates, many people will continue to pay these high rental rates due to the shortage of accommodation on the market, which is a good opportunity for ambitious residents to rent out their own properties. If you own more than one property, one for you to live in, another just as an investment, why not rent it out, and put the income you earn towards your mortgage, it will probably more than cover it! Obviously, not everyone can afford to do this but there are a number of investors that bought cheap early on, and have really reaped the rewards of doing so. Be warned though, some developers, like Emaar, have restrictions on the periods you can rent your house out for, so be sure to do some research first!

Don’t let the recent price increases cause you stress when you can do something about it. Be sure to contact us and solve your rental problems by investing in your own Dubai freehold property and keep your savings high like they should be.

Invest like Donald Trump does!

You don’t have to be a millionaire to invest in your own piece of Dubai freehold property, but it certainly helps! The Palm Jumeirah, a local and international interest for its unique design and concept has also garnered the attention of Donald Trump, who is world renowned for his luxury developments and resorts. Now, he has invested in a project on the Palm Jumeirah, The Trump International Hotel and Tower, a resort hotel and residential complex at the base of the Palm. Extending up 48 stories, this spectacular building will be a landmark for the entire Palm development, as well as blending in with the superb architecture of surrounding developments such as Dubai Pearl and Dubai Marina.

Small-scale property investment is a stepping-stone to large property investment

You may not have a business empire like Donald Trump, but everyone has to start somewhere, and the Dubai real estate market might be a great place to start your dreams of property investment and development. Many people have done this, purchased a few key properties, made a good profit selling them on, and then invested in some more. It’s a way of life for many people here and the only way to get yourself into the business is to make a small start and expand from there.

Get ahead by understanding the Dubai property market

The best real estate agents in Dubai are the ones that fully understand the market and keep track of all new rules and laws. Property investors should certainly do the same! The market is always changing in Dubai, and it changes just as fast as the buildings they construct do, and they generally appear out of nowhere. Check on our blogs to see what’s new on the market, as we try to write about any property news as it happens!

Do property investors know about freehold land in Dubai?

Not only can you buy a property from a freehold development, but also several of these projects have freehold land available within the area. This is not for the faint-hearted, but if you have the capital and the determination, you can build your own development! This is what many of the new smaller property developers have done, purchased land within a larger development then released innovative sub-developments to appeal to Dubai property buyers. As I said before, start small then expand, and this strategy seems to be working for Dubai’s newest developers.

There are lots of opportunities to be captured on the Dubai freehold market, be it in development, property buying or selling. Investors could make the Dubai property business a success if they have the right knowhow and ideas.

Cityscape International Property Show Dubai

For all those property investors out there that are not familiar with Cityscape Dubai, it is an international property show that has been held for the past seven years, and each year brings an improved turnout of buyers, seller and exhibitors of all things property. With the Dubai freehold market still in a booming phase, it’s no surprise that this year brought an impressive 50,000 regional property investors, and over 1,000 exhibitors.

The Cityscape International Property Show was only just held this year and finished on the 18th October, but with dates for next year’s event already announced, it will be interesting to see where the Dubai property market is another year down the line compared to now. With a huge array of projects on display, both local and overseas, investors really got a glimpse of the biggest and best freehold projects of commercial and residential use.One thing that was certainly clear from this year’s show is the continuous investor interest in property developments of the United Arab Emirates. Ongoing projects in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah are climbing in popularity, and the many up market projects on the Dubai real estate scope are still attracting buyers, despite the high levels of price inflation, which have had significant impact on the buying and renting markets. Owning a home is a very popular option with many of the Emirates residents and the large amounts of interest seem to confirm this.

Another interesting result of this year’s Cityscape Dubai was that there is growing interest in new and developing markets such as India, the Philippines, Turkey and Egypt. These markets have really started to follow the leads of the emerging markets of several years ago, such as the United Arab Emirates, which now stands out in the regional property market. With ambitious projects in these developing countries being undertaken by local developers, and large regional developers such as Emaar and Damac, it’s only a matter of time before these countries gain some ground with international property investors as key places to buy.