Tag Archives: aviation
Sharjah to allow expats to buy property for the first time
Foreigners are to be able to buy in Sharjah for the first time after the government passed a law enabling expats from anywhere in the world to invest in the real estate market. Leases of up to 100 years will be granted to overseas buyers provided they hold a United Arab Emirates residency visa, officials have confirmed One reason behind the decision is the huge demand for homes from people working in neighbouring Dubai. But there will be restrictions on locations with only property in new investment areas on the edge of the city centre being available. The first new development to offer the long leases will be Tilal City, a 25 million square feet development on Emirates Road close to the Al Dhaid Interchange which is being developed by Sharjah Asset Management and Eskan Real Estate Development. The project comprises 1,800 land plots. Officials said the new rules would create ‘new cluster cities’ outside central Sharjah which would reduce traffic and congestion in the main city centre. The move is also aimed at outlawing the number of disputes caused by foreigners attempting to get around the previous rules which prevented anyone other than GCC Arabs, and a few non-GCC Arabs and Asians with special permission, from owning real estate in the emirate. ‘There are over 220 nationalities here in Sharjah. But we think the biggest demand will come from Arab and Asian Muslims living here who want their families to live in a stable and safe environment,’ said Hamad Salem Al Mazrooa, director general of the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department. ‘The only restriction is that they must have a residence visa at the time of purchase. If for some reason after the purchase their residence visa expires, they are free to hold the property, lease or sell it as they wish,’ he explained. Officials are keen to prevent developers selling hundreds of off-plan apartments to speculators who would then flip them on at a higher price, something that contributed to the recent boom and bust in house prices in Dubai. ‘We want to avoid off-plan speculative flipping, as in the past in the UAE before the crisis where developers were marketing the project and didn’t finish building, took the money and left the country,’ Salem explained. The Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department is to open a small registration office at the Tilal City site where foreign investors could start to register their properties. Faisal Durrani, international research and business development manager at Cluttons, described it as an historic milestone for Sharjah. ‘Traditionally, international investors have focused their attention on Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but the move will open up a new market, to investors residing in the UAE,’ he said. ‘The success of Tilal City is likely to determine whether a number of similar schemes are brought forward in Sharjah. However, based on the number of gated community feasibility studies that Cluttons has been commissioned to undertake, in close proximity to Sharjah International Airport, we expect to see similar developments launched… Continue reading
Dubai to introduce new measures to ensure broker transparency
New measures are being introduced in Dubai next year to make sure hundreds of new real estate brokers are monitored. The Emirate has seen over 500 new brokers setting up this year alone and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), the regulatory arm of Dubai Land Department, wants to make sure they are compliant. It has announced the introduction of four new regulations to control brokers at a time when the real estate broker sector is booming due to the recovery in the property market. Overseas buyers are again investing in Dubai led by Indian and British nationals. ‘We are going to introduce four new measures to control the brokers. We had over 8,000 brokerage firms with 10,000 brokers at one time, but now we have 2,205 firms with 5,021 brokers. We saw 567 new firms setting up business this year and we believe the numbers are still high for Dubai,’ said Marwan bin Ghalita, RERA chief executive officer. The new regulations will come into force next year and will see the pass mark for the mandatory test for renewal of broker’s license rise from 75% to 85%. Also, broker cards will be eliminated, but broker registration will be linked with Emirates identification. The changes will also mean that new brokerages will be allowed only four broker visas to start with and any increase will depend on their performance. Brokers, who fail to do any transaction for six months to 12 months will have their registration cancelled. Other changes are being considered. For example there is concern at an industry level that property owners not signing broker contract agreements, known as Form A. RERA is now considering making the contract obligatory before a property can be marketed. ‘If the seller does not signing Form A, the seller will not be able to list the property and sell it through any agent in Dubai,’ he disclosed, adding that a multiple listing system would come in place soon which will limit the listings for the seller in the market. Since May unified real estate contracts have been mandatory with the aim of protecting the rights of sellers, buyers and brokers in any real estate transaction. The latest data from the Dubai Land Department show that there were 17,289 real estate transactions worth AED37.5 billion in the first half of the year. Indian and British buyers topped the list for foreign investment and Jordanian investors led the regional list of buyers. ‘To say that we are delighted with the real investment transaction figures from January to July would be an understatement. We are extremely proud of these positive results, as they reflect a building momentum in Dubai’s real estate market,’ said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, DLD director general. ‘Dubai’s real estate market has now reasserted itself on both the regional and global stage. We are certain that the future will see even more demand, especially in light of the government's declaration of forthcoming major projects,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that Arab Investors completed… Continue reading
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
