Tag Archives: real-estate
Aviation growth in Dubai set to boost real estate sectors, it is claimed
The real estate sector in Dubai is expected to emerge as one of the principal beneficiaries of the development of Al Maktoum International Airport, according to property firm Cluttons. Plans for the two phased project, which will cover an area of 65 square kilometres in Jebel Ali have been unveiled with the city's entire economy set to benefit significantly. Dubai International Airport, is already the world's busiest hub for international traffic, and continues to play a vital role in the development of the emirate's economy as aviation remains a core pillar for growth. With the aviation sector's contribution to GDP set to rise to 32% by 2020 from 28% at present, there will be a significant ripple effect on the number of jobs created. ‘Aviation has historically been a significant contributor to the city's growth. Once again, the sector looks set to deliver the next wave of growth for Dubai, well beyond the current horizon of the 2020 Expo, which is already translating into a flurry of construction activity across the city,’ said Faisal Durrani, Cluttons' international research and business development manager. ‘The residential sector will no doubt be an obvious long term benefactor of the significant rise in the number of jobs being created, with both lettings and buyer demand set to rise significantly as the number of households in the city increases. However, it is the commercial sector that stands to benefit the most in the short to medium term,’ he added. According to Cluttons, the office market continues to recover following the downturn, with occupier activity still ticking upwards across the city as occupancy levels recover in many pockets of the city, although there still remain some issues surrounding strata ownership, which has left vacancy rates abnormally high in some select locations. ‘The development of Al Maktoum Airport will no doubt help to drive further activity as aviation related industries begin to mobilise and take up position in the city set to house the world's largest airport,’ explained Durrani. ‘For some time now we have experienced a steady rise in the number of enquiries from industrial occupiers, with sites around Al Maktoum Airport being sought by logistics, freight forwarding and distribution companies,’ he pointed out. ‘With plans now becoming clearer surrounding the development, we expect to see a much more robust and diversified base of occupiers vying for a position around the new aerotropolois, which is set to have an annual passenger capacity of 220 million once fully developed. Although it remains unclear at this stage how long the two phased development will take to complete, it is clear that the airport will grow in significance as a cargo hub as the capacity crunch at Dubai International forces the relocation of all cargo traffic,’ he added. Durrani also pointed out that the added benefit of Jebel Ali Port, a planned Etihad Rail freight and passenger station and the multitude of residential communities planned for the Jebel Ali area are together starting to create a very attractive proposition for… Continue reading
Almost half of UK property owners have homes too big for their needs, research sugg
Across the UK, 47% of privately owned households are Tumbleweeders who occupy homes that are too large for their needs, according to new research. In its Housing Futures report, national estate agent Strutt & Parker defines a Tumbleweeder as those who have two or more bedrooms than required for the number of people living in their home and a couple is defined as needing one bedroom. The research shows that under-occupation becomes greater in the peripheral areas of the UK. The five most under-occupied areas in the UK are Rutland in the East Midlands where 63% of residents are Tumbleweeders, Eilean Siar in Scotland at 60%, Monmouthshire in Wales at 59%, The Cotswolds also at 59% and the Orkney Islands in Scotland at 58%. On the whole cities have lower under-occupation. The five least under-occupied areas in the UK are all in central London except Glasgow City where only 19% of residents are Tumbleweeders. City of London is the lowest at 13%, followed by Tower Hamlets at 17%, Westminster at 24% and Hackney at 25%. ‘Lack of supply is often cited as the biggest issue facing the housing industry in the UK. However, these figures clearly show that under-occupation is an equally huge issue,’ said Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker. ‘The challenge for the industry is to provide suitable solutions to individuals' housing needs. In particular, we need to build more homes that our older generations are prepared to downsize into. As a nation of low supply and high demand, we would rather have all homes occupied efficiently where possible,’ she explained. ‘In reality, Tumbleweeders have the potential to be one of the greatest limiters of supply and, while being discussed in the social housing arena, their impact upon the wider housing market is not currently being addressed,’ she added. But she also pointed out that there are very valid reasons for being a Tumbleweeder, such as those who work in a city and spend weekends in another location may have homes for both. Likewise, empty nesters who have not downsized since their children left home, or indeed families who in the past have had ageing parents living with them may find they now have a house much larger than they really need. Tumbleweeders could also be those with part time families which are increasingly common in the modern age, for example parents whose children only stay with them at the weekends. According to research by Grainger, 41% of households will be occupied by one person by 2033, and three quarters will have no dependent children. Due to our ageing population, 3.8 million older people already live alone in the UK and 70% of these are women. Continue reading
Australian new home approvals at high levels, but uneven across states
New home approvals in Australia bounced back in July and remain at very high levels by historic standards, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). During July 2014, a total of 16,320 dwellings were approved, a 2.5% increase on the previous month. Compared with the previous three month period, approvals were also up by 2.5% and over the 12 months to July new home approvals totalled 195,227. The increase in building approvals nationally during July was driven largely by a 23.1% increase in Western Australia in seasonally adjusted terms. In Queensland approvals were up by 0.9% but there were significant declines in other states, led by a 7.7% fall in Tasmania, followed by a 5.7% decline in New South Wales, a 4.6% decline in Victoria and a smaller fall of 1.9% in South Australia. In trend terms, new home approvals increased by 16.7% in the Northern Territory but fell by 9.3% in the Australian Capital Territory during July. ‘These figures mean that Australia’s home building industry has broken yet another record this year. Total seasonally adjusted new home approvals over the past 12 months are the highest since records began back in 1984. Having broken through the 195,000 threshold for the first time, new home building approvals is now at an even higher level than during the 1994 building boom,’ said Housing Industry Association senior economist Shane Garrett. However, he pointed out that despite this achievement, there have been signs of slowdown in new home building approvals over the past six months. ‘It is also worth bearing in mind that the bulk of the July increase was driven by an exceptional large expansion in Western Australia,’ he said. ‘The key is to ensure that a number of markets, like Sydney for example, achieve sustainably healthy levels of new home over the coming decade which far outweigh what has been built over the last ten years. Numerous government policies across all tiers stand in the way of this objective being achieved,’ he added. Other ABS figures show residential building work done continued to strengthen in the June 2014 quarter, following healthy growth in March. There was $13.4 billion of residential building work done, some 2.2% higher than in the previous quarter and 9.6% higher than in the June 2013 quarter. ‘These preliminary figures indicate that new home building activity is likely to represent a positive contribution to overall GDP growth in the national accounts figures to be released next Wednesday,’ said HIA economist, Diwa Hopkins. She explained that a closer look at these preliminary results shows that the detached house segment was the key driver of growth in residential building during the June 2014 quarter, compared with the March quarter when multi-unit building led the charge. In the June 2014 quarter, new house building work contributed 1.6% points to the 2.2% growth in total residential building work done. ‘These developments are largely in line with what… Continue reading
