Gulf News

Dubai developers keep up steady stream of launches

New entrant KAO aims for the millennial buyer with the Canvas

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Dubai’s developers are mixing it up — no longer is there a rigid fixation with only towers or the sprawling villas.

A recently formed developmen­t company, KOA, has launched a limited set of apartments — 70 in all — in a low-rise building format but set among 200,000 square feet of garden/ landscapin­g. The ‘Canvas’ is located near the Mohammad Bin Rashid Gardens, a location which has been seeing quite a bit of investor activity according to data from Dubai Land Department.

Prices for the units — ranging from 580 to 5,000 square feet — are set between Dh1,000Dh1,200 a square foot. And 41 of these apartments come with in varying floor plans. The land was acquired last year.

“KOA’s focus will only be on smaller communitie­s — anything on a bigger scale I’m not interested,” said Mohammad Zaal, CEO.

“If the threshold of available units had been raised to 100, that would have made it too commercial. Lots of developers are already doing that. We will stick with a low FAR [floor area ratio] — again it helps with managing the constructi­on and logistics costs. We are spending a lot of effort on the craftsmans­hip of the individual units and in the environmen­t outside.”

Stated intent

In fact, KAO’s stated intent with its projects — a second one is to be announced later in the year — is to target the millennial residents here, those who are likely to get into the property market for the first time. And for whom the accompanyi­ng lifestyle the environs can offer.

“Again, there aren’t developers going for this demographi­c — their focus is exclusivel­y on the baby-boomers,” said Zaal, who has also been associated with the upscale Al Barari villa community. “But the millennial buyer is striking roots in this city — this is where they grew up and want to be.”

Sales programme

For the Canvas’ sales programme, 44 units out of the 70 go on sale on day one and the rest a month thereafter. It will be strictly on a first-come, firstserve­d basis despite the limited number of units. The first deliveries are due in the first quarter of 2018 and the entire lot by the fourth quarter of 2018.

Meanwhile, developers in Dubai bagged approvals for Dh100 billion worth of projects in 2016, Land Department data show. The first launches have already taken place, including Sobha Group’s Dh5 million plus ‘Quad Homes’ at MBR (Mohammad Bin Rashid) City and Dubai Properties at its Villanova community in Dubailand.

Even the big-ticket freehold property purchases are happening — one in the Burj Khalifa fetched Dh18 million plus, while a Palm unit recorded more than Dh10 million. January’s not proving chilly for Dubai’s developers and investors.

 ??  ?? Mohammad Zaal
Mohammad Zaal

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