Dubai gets cracking on affordable housing
The affordable housing market in Dubai is hotting up. Danube Properties launched its eighth mid-tier project in Dubai in the cluster of Arjaan near Miracle Gardens on Tuesday.
The new G+4 tower titled ‘Resortz’ comes with the ‘pay one per cent per month’ payment plan and will be handed over in June 2019. Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group, says the project will offer a resort feel and better facilities than its previous developments.
For instance, the Dh300 million Resortz will offer a bigger swimming pool, squash court, jogging and walking tracks, among other facilities. The project comprises 419 units with studios, two-bedroom and twobedroom apartments.
“The majority are studios since there is huge demand for them. A lot of people live in sharing accommodation in new Dubai and pay at least Dh2,500 to Dh3,000 for a bed space per month. It’s better to buy a studio, have your own private space and pay Dh4,500 per month. With the special payment plan, they need to pay only a small down payment and one per cent per month thereafter,” says Sajan.
The prices fall in the same range as Danube’s earlier projects — studios are priced from Dh450,000, 1-bedroom from Dh750,000 up to Dh800,000 and 2-bedroom for
a lot of people pay Dh2,500 to Dh3,000 per month for sharing accommodation in new Dubai. It’s better to buy a studio and pay Dh4,500 per month Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group
Dh1 million and above. The price per sq ft is approximately Dh1,000 per sq ft. In terms of area, a studio will span around 475 to 500 sq ft.
Central locations
Danube Properties prefers to build projects in the heart of the city where infrastructure is ready so that investors benefit from better capital appreciation.
In response to a question, Sajan adds: “Dubai South will take a long time to develop and mature. But our projects, for instance, in Al Furjan are close to Ibn Battuta Mall and Arjan is close to Mall of the Emirates. Prices will appreciate much more in an already developed area rather than in an up-and-coming locality.”
Building in the city limits will affect the developer’s margins considering the high land prices. However, being in the building materials industry helps Danube source products at better prices and offset the high land prices.
“We don’t work on very high margins. Because we are into the building materials industry, we have an advantage over our competitors in terms of prices. That helps us offset the high land prices and pass on the cost advantage to our customers,” remarks Sajan.
The developer ha already acquired a plot in Dubai for its next project, but the founder was tightlipped on the location. With the launch of Resortz, Danube Properties’ development portfolio is worth Dh2.5 billion. It will launch projects worth another Dh1 billion this year, with the ninth project scheduled for a launch before Ramadan.
deliveries this year
“This year, we will deliver Dh1.1 billion worth of projects before the third quarter. This includes about 830 units across Glitz 1, 2 and 3 and Dreamz townhouses in Studio City and Al Furjan respectively,” adds Sajan.
Meanwhile, the developer says 97 per cent of apartments have been sold out in Miraclz, its previous project in Arjan. “We have retained a few units for sale in our Mumbai office. There is huge interest from Indians to come and buy property in Dubai. They can purchase a studio for less than Rs90 lakh and the rental income is huge in Dubai,” says Sajan.
Danube Properties recently opened a sales office in Saudi Arabia, and will soon have offices in Abu Dhabi, Kochi and Delhi. In terms of construction progress, foundation work has started at Miraclz and the main contractor will be announced by the end of this month.
— deepthi@khaleejtimes.com