Dh20B+ new projects
Some of the other big launches at Cityscape include Marsa Meydan by the Meydan Group in Jebel Ali, D1 Residences at District One, Mohammed bin Rashid City, Mamsha AlSaadiyat by Aldar Properties, Eastern Residences by Falcon City of Wonders, Nakheel’s Dragon Towers in International City, Fiora in Golf Verda by Damac Properties, and renovation of Khorfakkan beach by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).
Most developers are using the platform to showcase and sell existing inventory with unique marketing efforts, extended post-completion payment plans and other fee waivers. Some of these include service charge waiver, Dubai Land Department fee waiver, guaranteed net rentals, Oqood fee waiver and sales price discounts exclusive to Cityscape. This is a far cry from earlier years when developers focused on giving freebies (such as cars and yachts) to lure buyers.
Asteco estimates that 3,850 apartments and 700 villas have been handed over in Dubai at the end of H1 2018. The consultancy has forecast 12,000 homes to be delivered in Dubai by the end of 2018. “There are quite a lot of relaunches. Developers are changing the marketing focus and incentives being offered. They are incentivising brokers with higher commissions, up to 10 per cent in some cases while the market norm is only two per cent for sales. Developers are now using social media and property portals for real estate marketing. They are also introducing new technologies such as geolocated tags targeting areas with high footfall,” said John Stevens, managing director of Asteco.
What’s different about Cityscape Global this year is that developers are placing equal emphasis on ready properties for sale. This is contrast to 2017, when off-plan had put up a stellar sales performance.
It was reported that over Dh870 million worth of on-site transactions were recorded during the three days of Cityscape Global in Dubai in September 2017. Analysts expect similar levels of interest this year.
“Cityscape Global 2018 will be more subdued than last year. We won’t see as many new launches. There will be more re-launches of existing projects rather than new ones. A number of the bigger developers have cut down their presence at the event. It is a reflection of less new product being introduced into the market. There will be more focus on reselling unsold stock rather than launching new off-plan units,” observed Craig Plumb, head of research, Mena at JLL.
Ian Albert, regional director and head of research and advisory, Mena at Colliers International, said: “Cityscape is about the exchange of views and ideas, where we are and where we are going, as an industry but also the marketplace. We still have some way to go before the market hits the absolute bottom. But the rate of decline in sales prices has definitely slowed.”