The latest property stories in the UAE press:
Brokers talk down ‘bubble’ talk
Recent views about ‘hot money’ from troubled countries in the region pushing up house prices in Dubai has been contradicted by leading real estate brokerage firms in Dubai.
The increase in prices is purely because of demand and there are no signals about any bubble in the making, they say.
Emirates 24|7: Villa prices surge on demand
Sky high service fees
Dubai-based Emaar Properties has not increased the 2012 service charges for its iconic Burj Khalifa, and has maintained it at the last year’s level, Emirates 24/7 can reveal.
Despite that, the service charges for the world’s tallest tower remain one of the highest in the world, with owners of residential units having to shell out Dh55.01 per sq ft in 2012 compared to Dh55 per sqft in 2011 and Dh52.77 per sqft in 2010.
Emirates 24|7: Dh115,521 for a 2-bed, and that’s just the service fee
Services hit as bills rise
Homeowners who bought apartments in certain New Dubai communities in the hope of getting good rental returns have been stumped by high service fees and rising utility costs.
Take Discovery Gardens for instance. The annual rent from a one bedroom apartment here is around Dh38,000, but its service fee hovers around Dh19,000. In International City too, the picture is no less dismal. For a 740 square foot one-bedroom apartment that fetches only Dh24,000 in annual rents, the annual service fee is around Dh12,000.
Gulf News: Fee factor: services hit as bills rise
Uplift in Dubai home sales
Jean-Luc Desbois, a Dubai mortgage consultant, has increased his sales force by 40 percent this year as low interest rates and depressed prices help the desert sheikhdom emerge from a three-year property slump.
“January was our best month ever,” said Desbois, who started his Home Matters company in 2006, two years before the real estate market collapsed. “Eighty-five percent of our business is for villas and we expect this strong demand to continue this year.”
Home sales increased 67 percent by value in the fourth quarter from a year earlier to AED2.85bn, Land Department data show. The number of homes sold rose 72 percent to 2,605 units, after a 64 percent gain in the fourth quarter from the third.
Arabianbusiness.com: Brokers report uplift in Dubai home sales
Downtown to get cultural district
Dubai announced plans last week to follow neighbour Abu Dhabi in establishing a cultural district which will include a museum, two art hotels and an opera house.
Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also UAE vice president and prime minister, announced the launch of the Dubai Modern Art Museum and Opera House District to be located in Emaar’s flagship Downtown Dubai.
Arabianbusiness: Dubai eyes cultural district to lure tourists
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
interesting post, it seems everyone wants to be first to report on good and bad news, that keeps the market from growing and getting stronger