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The UAE has proved its resilience against all challenges in the past as it has a history of recovering faster from the global financial and health crises, says an industry veteran.

“If you look back, the UAE and Dubai recovered faster than any other economies from all the previous crises it faced in the last three decades, be it the Gulf War, Sars, the global financial crisis, bird flu, etc. It recovered fast, breaking all predictions. Whatever the depth of the crisis might be, Dubai has emerged stronger. So, there is a pattern and history of fasterrecovery from crises,” said Rizwan Sajan, chairman of Danube Group.

Dubai’s ability to quickly adapt and promptly respond to crisis led by the leadership as well as its status as an open economy helps the emirate to quickly overcome any challenge.
Sajan said coronavirus will not affect the long-term competitive advantage of the UAE.

“In all likelihood, it is a stress test for various economic sectors and businesses. Those who have attained economic sustainability will come back strongly. This is a wake-up call for businesses that did not attain sustainability,” he said.

“The UAE, especially Dubai, will see a massive growth in business activities and the country’s economy is poised for a sharp V-shaped recovery in the fourth quarter of the year. Looking back, the Covid-19 pandemic will be remembered as a short-lived nightmare,” the chairman said.

Danube Properties is one of the few private Dubai developers who successfully launched a new project earlier this year at a time when new launches had slowed down due to oversupply in the market. The developer has been one of the first players to launch affordable homes as well as an industry-setting one per cent monthly payment scheme and rent-to-own schemes.

“While many countries are witnessing a second wave in the coronavirus’ spread, the UAE appears to be out of danger. If the UAE becomes a Covid-19-free country, we will witness a massive influx of tourists returning to enjoy the country’s world-class facilities. This will make the UAE an attractive destination for living, working, doing business, tourism and investment.”

Sajan stressed that Covid-19 is a short-term public health crisis, which will soon become part of history.

Dubai: Danube Properties is testing investor appetite for offplan property with a Dh400 million project at Al Warsan First, near International City. And it is backed by an aggressive pricing that sees studios being offered from Dh290,000, one-bedrooms from Dh475,000 and two-beds at Dh699,000.

About 375 units of the overall 741 apartments at “Olivz” are being put on sale from today (March 11). Completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022.

This is the first formal offplan launch of the year in Dubai, with most developers preferring to stay well away from what is still an exceptionally difficult sellers’ market. Emaar has been pushing The Valley, while other developers have had limited releases at locations such as District 1 in MBR (Mohammed Bin Rashid) City and elsewhere.

Also, most developers are waiting for Dubai’s Higher Committee on Real Estate to give its views on how to tackle issues such as oversupply. But, according to Atif Rahman, Director at Danube Properties, that’s not the same as saying new launches should stop. “That’s not what the Committee has been set up for – and as a developer, it is not our intention to worry about if there is demand for offplan,” he said. “Our only consideration is how to tap demand.”

Any talk about Dubai and property inevitably veers towards the supply issue – how the market could see between 40,000-50,000 new homes being readied this year. That this could be the pace of delivery for the next two to three years, and how this would keep prices under unrelenting pressure.

On whether the tight market situation is reflected in Danube’s launch prices for Olivz, Rahman said: “Look, construction costs have not come down – only property values have. No developer can risk lowering prices to an extent that the build quality suffers. Regardless of the market situation, we keep our prices to a certain range. The one thing that we do not engage in is over pricing.” (On a per square foot basis, the price would be close to about Dh800 a square foot.)

Delivery trackrecord

Danube has so far delivered 2,100 plus units across multiple projects, with some of them turning out to be popular rental hotspots. This is the leverage Rahman hopes will score with potential buyers of Olivz units. That and the developer’s time-tested 1 per cent payment plans.

Last year, Danube launched two projects – the “Elz” and “Wavez” – and delivered two, “Starz” and “Resortz”.

Market sources say that it’s unlikely there will be a string of new launches in the first-half of the year. The novelty of extra-long post-handover payment plans is slowly fading, and developers are turning their attention to project completions and then making a push with ready units.

UAE – A few years ago, Jatin and Sherry Gupta, a young millennial couple, he a banker in his early 30s, she a PR consultant (and founder of Excel Comms) in her late 20s, moved to Dubai from Doha. It was a transfer they had actively sought because they both felt Dubai would be a “good place” to be in — not least because it is “a two-and-a-half-hour flight away from home [in north India]”. In a year’s time, both had fallen in love with the city, and decided this was where they want to be in the foreseeable future: at least for the next 5 to 10 years.

That year was also the time when they lived in a rented accommodation in the bustling community of Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), and, over the course of socialising on weekends, discovered that six of Jatin’s classmates from his college in India, all in their early 30s, scattered in various freehold parts of Dubai, had purchased properties of their own in the city.

“It made perfect sense,” says Jatin, sitting next to one of the many green lakes in JLT — on an evening when the weather still permits al fresco seating — and sipping a cup of tea from one of the innumerable eateries dotting the expanse of glass-façaded residential (and a few commercial) towers. “Instead of paying money on rentals, you’re better off owning a place… for sure, property prices will go up and down, but — worst-case scenario — even if you assume that the value of what you bought remains the same at the end of 5 or 10 years, you would still have saved on rent.”

Sometime before Covid gripped the world, Jatin and Sherry bought a 2-bedroom apartment in JLT. One of Jatin’s friends — from his alma mater — who owned a place in the same JLT cluster was instrumental in showing them the ropes.

It needed “courage” to put up a substantial sum of money, the couple points out; the down payment itself almost wiped out their entire savings. “Our parents back in India kept asking us to do — and redo — the math so we didn’t end up cash-crunched and in debt,” Sherry remembers. “But finally, when we sealed the deal, they were very proud of us… It was a big moment, pretty emotional.” Helped greatly by the fact that home was, literally, where their heart was. In Dubai.

SALIENCE OF BRICK-AND-MORTAR

It’s important to note the bedrock of this trend. Earlier, it used to be said the Dubai dream lasts only as long as you have a job — or a profit-making business. The day the rug is pulled from below your feet, you have to wake up and smell the coffee.

But not anymore.

With the UAE loosening up visa and residency regulations, you don’t need to pack your bags and get ready to exit the country in case you lose your job — or your business folds up. In fact, you can even enter the country and live here as a digital nomad, while being employed elsewhere.

While Jatin and Sherry fetched up in Dubai as ‘newcomers’, there are catchments of young people who were raised here, and whose families were wary of investing in real estate because of the lack of a sense of brick-and-mortar-like permanence. The new gen-ers are now buying their own homes, instead of living in rented quarters like their parents did, points out Aleli D Alo, a property advisor in Dubai. “If you live in a rented place for, say, 10 years, then it’s basically money lost,” she says, echoing Jatin’s sentiments. “Instead, if you had bought the property, you could have paid it [your mortgage] off in a decade… and even sold your place at a higher price… and then maybe bought some place bigger.”

Overall, there’s been a surge in the number of younger, first-time buyers, who are “motivated to buy because the market is going up”. Many younger folks, she adds, “who have earned good money on, say, [investing in] cryptocurrency often want to diversify their funds to a more tangible/stable asset — a first home”.

Aleli also avers “many millennials are becoming digital nomads and moving here because they believe Dubai is very stable… a very safe market.”

Anis Sahyoun, a Lebanese entrepreneur, born and raised in Dubai (and partly in Saudi Arabia), is a firm believer in immovable assets. “No stocks and bonds for me, give me real estate,” he says. And as someone who’s been in the entrepreneurial/startup ecosystem and who’s observed it closely, Anis feels there’s no turning back the “huge influx of businesses here” which is leading to a further spike in the number of home purchases. “There are conflicts and uncertainties around the world [including his home country, Lebanon], but the UAE is a safe, tax-free haven.” People, especially younger people, will continue to pour in. And invest in properties here rather than in their home countries.

Having said that, his reasons for buying property here is also emotional. “This is home, this is a city with a vision, my family and I are here to stay… at least for the foreseeable future.” He’s comfortable in the security the outlook offers.

When Anis’s brother-in-law (who’s French) and his family wanted to move out of France, they zeroed in on Dubai, and have now picked up properties here. “My brother-in-law saw exactly what I did.” Maximum city. Not just architecturally.

WHY IT IS EASY TO BE HOUSE-PROUD

In March 2020, the Central Bank of the UAE issued a decree enabling banks to increase the loan-to-value (LTV) for first-time buyers by 5 per cent — for both expats and UAE nationals. Which means, expats can now borrow up to 80 per cent of purchase prices from banks here. According to

Lewis Allsopp, CEO of Allsopp & Allsopp, one of Dubai’s most premier property services agencies, this increase in LTV encouraged many first-time buyers “to take the plunge”. “From then on, the legislations and visas that have been introduced by the UAE government have been extremely helpful for expats looking to set up a life in the city and have definitely made an impact on the property market.”

In his interactions and his company’s dealings with first-time buyers, he notices something: they are confident about their intent to buy. “A lot of them have done their due diligence and have been living in Dubai for some time before making the decision to buy… once they are at the stage of viewing properties, their mind has been made about buying their first property here.”

It’s a confidence bolstered by a careful curation of policies and mandates that have made home-buying a compelling option. Other than banks offering competitive rates to prospective buyers, in cases where one buys a place and then suddenly decides to leave, “they can always rent out the place very easily — or convert your place into a holiday home — and earn money from it”, says Aleli.

There’s another magic ingredient thrown into the mix: how almost everything can be done online, intuitively. “You don’t even have to be present in person in order to purchase.”

The kind of property management you get here, Aleli continues, “is something you will not find anywhere else in the world… everything can be managed on your smartphone. There’s an excess of service providers here in Dubai, who can be accessed even if you are not around in person.”

These are all concerns that have been laid to rest for younger buyers who are looking for a hassle-free experience, with technology being used as a great enabler. Anis seconds the observation: “They’ve just made it so easy.”

MAKING ‘AFFORDABLE LUXURY’ A REALTY TREND FOR MILLENNIALS

Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of the Danube Group, may not be a millennial, but the building blocks of Danube Properties have been put in place riding on a strategy to tap into the young, first-time buyer segment.

“Our propositions were formulated keeping in mind the younger target group — those in their early- to mid-30s, buying their first home, who wouldn’t need to be intimidated by the prospect of very expensive properties — for which you need to have wealth passed on to you by your family — and yet would not need to compromise on aspirations like a ‘luxurious’ lifestyle,” says Rizwan. The Danube residences, for instance, are usually furnished, and they are furnished keeping in mind younger, millennial sensibilities.

He adds that at the Danube offices, on any given day, there’s a steady stream of first-time buyers — who usually step out

after signing on the dotted line.

It’s reflective of the same mindset that Lewis Allsopp spoke about: confidence in the market — and an intent to purchase.

Rizwan also tells us how Danube zoomed in on the tagline of ‘stop renting, start owning’ while conceptualising the value propositions of their offerings. There are pure plays such as the 10 per cent down payment scheme and 1 per cent payment per month from thereon among others.

After how the government handled Covid and Dubai Expo, investors are flowing in, market confidence is at an all-time high, and loads of young people — salaried professionals, startup entrepreneurs, digital nomads — from around the world want to move to Dubai. “They will be investing in properties,” Rizwan affirms. “No two ways about it.”

The future, he is super sanguine, “is super bright”.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

It all has to come down to the first-time buyer and what they feel will be most beneficial in the coming years, says Lewis Allsopp: “If you feel that Dubai is home and moving back to your home country is not on your radar, then it’s time to stop paying rent and subsequently paying someone else’s mortgage — and start paying into your own.”

Even if one were to point out that all this sounds notional, the flip side can only be that the market remains volatile. During the pandemic, there was a blip in the property market when prices in Dubai suddenly nosedived. Jatin — he’s the sort who goes to Dubizzle every other day to check on the likely valuation of his property — was most miffed when he saw he could have bought his apartment for an obscene percentage lesser if only he had waited.

But that’s when Sherry gave him the ‘realty check’. “Why are you putting a monetary value to the place we call home?”

And the penny suddenly dropped.

https://www.zawya.com/en/business/real-estate/millennials-home-in-on-dubai-pi9zy965

UAE-based Danube Properties has announced the launch of Gemz, a AED350 million ($95.2 million) luxurious residential project in a pyramid-shaped architecture, offering spacious homes and floor plans with unique convertible layouts – so much so that a one-bed apartment can be made into a two-bed unit and the same can be turned into a three-bedroom unit – loaded with 30 luxury amenities.

A 14-storeyed building, Gemz will host 270 apartments – 24 studios, 74 one-bed, 114 two-bed and 42 three-bed apartments as well as 16 duplex apartments within Al Furjan, a vibrant residential community located between Sheikh Zayed Road and Mohammed Bin Zayed Road.

Danube said that to make these homes, which are priced at AED550,000 ($149,727) onwards, more affordable, it is offering the group’s flexible 1% monthly payment plan to the investors.

This plan facilitates the middle-income tenants and the end-users to easily fulfill their dreams of owning their choicest homes without any financial hardships, stated the Dubai developer at the launch event which also featured Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, its new brand ambassador.

https://news.writecaliber.com/economy-uae-uae-business-danube-launches-new-270-unit-residential-tower-in-dubai-gulf-digital-news/

Dubai’s Expo 2020 spurs real estate growth as real estate companies report record sales.

The upsurge in Dubai’s real estate market seems to be coming, as the years of policy reforms by the kingdom finally seems to be bringing back investors’ confidence in the sector. Long-term visas for investors and professionals, favorable payment plans and increased flexibility in debt repayment by financial institutions are some of the initiatives that have changed this mood.

“Investors’ confidence has been very high since the announcement that Dubai would host the expo in October,” says Atif Rahman, Partner & Director, Danube Properties. Rahman, this year, has special reason to feel elated because Danube Properties recently delivered a massive AED 300 million luxury residential community project.

“The good news is that we have already delivered this project and the bad news is that we are 100% sold out,” quips Rahman, who believes that delivery of a project is actually the real report card for any builder.

That apart, the last quarter of 2019 had recorded close to 5,000 real estate transactions, the highest number of property sales since 2008, and Dubai’s residential stock that is projected to reach 6,37,000 this year.

Expo 2020 – which the government calls “the largest event ever staged in the Arab world will host 190 countries, and millions of visitors from across the globe. The Expo will stretch for 173 days with several themes ranging from promoting innovation and sustainability in the Arab region.

Rahman thinks that Expo in the past has changed the economy of countries that have hosted such events, “You will see a dramatic growth in local economy and rise in real estate prices. That is the power of Expo,” he says.

Dubai, is betting billions of dollars in its efforts to showcase the Expo as the world’s biggest event ever. The organizers expect 11 million visits by people living in the UAE and 14 million from overseas visitors. A recently published economic impact assessment by consultancy firm EY noted that the Expo is expected to provide an AED 122.6 billion boost to the local economy, besides creating 49,700 full-time jobs a year.

Rahman is confident that the expo will spur further development of Dubai and encourage business.

The investment in Expo and the government spending in the infrastructure around it is one key factor that has been keeping the Dubai economy on track in the recent quarters – a view further endorsed by London-based Capital Economics which predicts that helped by the Expo, Dubai’s economic growth should range between 3.8% and 4.5% over the next few years.

Expo 2020 is expected to create a large number of job opportunities across various sectors including service industries, architecture, infrastructure development and engineering, travels and tourism sectors.

There is no doubt that Dubai’s real estate sector buoyed by the expo is on an upswing now. Developers like Rahman are expecting that post Expo, investors would like to have their base in the country, as he believes the regulatory and infrastructure that it provides is as attractive as any other global city like New York, London or Paris.

Despite the local Emiratis and emergence of Chinese as the leading investors in real estate in the region, real estate developers feel Indians have started looking at Dubai for their real estate investments. Considering the soaring real estate prices back home, the luxury factor has added to Indians interest in Dubai property.
The average price of residential properties in Dubai is in the range of AED 1,000 to 12,000 per sq ft which translates to Rs 20,000 to 24,000.

Rahman says it is the right time to invest in Dubai property market because it is not just about the conventional buying and selling. When you look at the average returns that you are able to clock anywhere else in the world it is still struggling between 5% and 6%. “Sometimes in a very glamorous situation it will be about 7% to 8%. But, in Dubai I can confidently say it is easy to make 10% to 12% all day long,” says Rahman.

Danube Properties announces the launch of Olivz, a master-planned cluster of buildings offering 741 residential units and a number of retail and recreational facilities with a development value exceeding Dh400 million.

The project will be developed in Al Warsan First area close to the International City and Dragon Mart with the easiest access to Mohammed Bin Zayed Road. The affordable homes come with Danube Properties’ trend-setting 1 percent payment plan that helps middle income tenants and end-users to easily acquire their dream homes.

The announcement was made at a packed press conference attended by the largest contingent of media and cheering crowd by Mr Rizwan Sajan, Founder and Chairman of Danube Group, and Mr Atif Rahman, Director and Partner of Danube Properties.

This marks the first real estate project launch of 2020 in the UAE and reflects Danube Properties’ confidence in the market that is witnessing a slow upturn as the countdown to the World Expo 2020 – that is expected to drive the demand for new homes – gains momentum.

The launch of Olivz comes as a welcome surprise to the UAE’s real estate broker community, who now has a new project with 741 apartments to market and sell.

With Olivz, Danube Properties development portfolio grows to 6,194 units, with a combined development value exceeding Dh4.5 billion. It has so far delivered about 2,155 units, with a combined sales value of Dh2.1 billion – or nearly half of its portfolio value.

“The launch of Olivz reflects our growing confidence in Dubai’s real estate market, which never ceases to amaze investors. The launch is timed well to meet the needs of the growing number of end-users who are now more confident to buy their dream homes,” Rizwan Sajan, Founder and Chairman of Danube Group, said.

“We have seen demand picking up in the last few months as we sold out all our previous projects – that necessitated the launch of Oilvz. With World Expo 2020 around the corner, we see an uptake in housing demand and the launch of Olivz is well timed to meet the demand.

“Olivz also gives Dubai’s real estate brokers a good number of inventories to promote and sell, and we are happy to see them requesting advance booking of units.”

Olivz will be developed at an 18,016 square meter plot of land at Al Warsan First, close to the International City with easy access to Mohammed Bin Zayed Highway. It has roads on both sides overlooking a public park and a mosque.

Each residential building will be uniquely positioned facing expansive landscaped gardens, with amenities such as swimming pool, jacuzzi, sunken seating surrounded by water bodies, water canal, play courts, kid’s play area and a BBQ area, providing residents an unparalleled lifestyle experience. The community is facilitated with family-oriented leisure facilities along with gymnasium, health club, jogging track and a party hall with outdoor deck.

Atif Rahman, Director and Partner of Danube Properties, says, “Olivz is another project which will reflect our commitment to design and deliver a happy community. Its driven with the intention of creating a superior lifestyle for the mid-market segment at extremely affordable prices. We have exerted immense efforts in ensuring that people will enjoy their life at Olivz once it is delivered. The location of the project is extremely attractive with super convenient entry and exit from Mohammed Bin Zayed Road without getting stuck in any kind of traffic bottleneck.

Today, Dubai is one of the finest real estate industries when compared globally backed by stringent regulatory controls and premium infrastructure. As a builder, I find more confidence in Dubai Real Estate than most of the other countries and the launch of the project is an evidence of that confidence. This is the best time for property buyers as they will never be able to get such attractive price points as the outlook of the real estate market remains bullish for the future.

“The launch of Olivz comes after we sold out the last two projects launched in 2019 – Elz and Wavez – as well as the delivery of two stellar projects Starz and Resortz.

“Our design vision for the project is to create a vibrant development, stitching the development into the fabric of the city and embedding it into the community. The community comes with some world class amenities, which you would generally associate with luxurious projects. Coupled with this, the apartments have been designed keeping end users in mind to ensure maximum utilization of space.

Dubai’s top private developers believe that a demand-supply balance has been achieved to some extent, and that prices are at rock-bottom and unlikely to go down any further.

Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Damac Properties, said that the market turned the corner in 2018 when new launches started to decline.

“We launched only one project each in 2018 and 2019, as compared to 10-12 in 2015. Our new project launches are 90 per cent less now, as we’re focused on deliveries. In 2019, we delivered over 6,000 units and plan to handover 8,500 this year and 9,000 next year. I believe that if the supply is stopped for a couple of years, the balance will be achieved between supply and demand,” Sajwani said.

Last year, 20,000 residential units were sold across Dubai, the Damac chairman had said earlier. This year, the developer hopes to sell 1,000 units.

“The prices won’t get cheaper in 2020-2021. The supply is getting less, and hopefully, in 2022, the prices will get much better,” he said during an interview with the CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Prices are rock bottom. Today, in Dubai, what you’re buying is almost at the cost of the developer or below cost,” he told Bloomberg in an interview.

He said that the supply has been curbed in the last couple of months as most of the big developers are not bringing in new projects.

Data by real estate consultancies show that the actual supply is less than projected, while sales have jumped substantially in the later part of last year, as properties become more affordable due to a persistent decline in prices. Data by ValuStrat revealed that a total of 24,613 residential units were confirmed to have been completed in 2019, which means that total completions represented only 58 per cent of the projected residential supply for 2019.

Real estate consultancy Cavendish Maxwell has predicted that 50,000 units will be handed over in 2020, but industry players believe that the materialisation rate will remain lower than expected due to delays in deliveries.

Atif Rahman, director and partner of Danube Properties, is also not worried about the oversupply, because he believes that a balance in supply and demand has been achieved.

“There can be oversupply in any market. Mumbai is sitting with 170,000 houses and there are no takers. In the Delhi region, there are more than 200,000 houses in the market; and we are talking about a country with a population of 1.3 billion, while the UAE is just 10 million. There will never be oversupply of good property,” he said.

He noted that a progressive economy, bringing in fresh investment, more population and businesses to the country will create further demand. “Every step that the Dubai government is taking, such liberalisation of trade and immigration reforms are moving towards that direction and will create more demand.”

Rahman noted that the Higher Committee for Real Estate Planning is not going to put a cap on new developments. “Even if they put a cap, we need to respect that. I am sure they must take the decision after a lot of research. You always get judicious and pro-business decision from the government,” he added.

Rahman stressed that every developer who is launching a new project should remain responsible towards delivering the previous one. “If a developer is progressing well with construction and delivery of previous project, I don’t see any harm in launching a new project. For the last 15 year, we always hear about oversupply, but more than half of Dubai was built over the last 15 years and the supply has been consumed,” he said.

Before March 2020, Danube plans to launch one more residential project in Dubai.

Danube Properties chairman Rizwan Sajan bets on UAE expats living in rented apartments to sell the new project.

“There is still huge scope of new properties as 80 per cent of expats still stay in the rented apartments. They are looking for affordable, value-for-money, good location, and payment plans. If you have put all these together they would certainly be interested,” he said.

Resort-themed ‘affordable luxury housing’ in Arjan features neoclassical architecture

Danube Properties has doubled down on its commitment to “affordable luxury” housing with the completion of Resortz, a Dh300-million low-rise residential complex in Arjan that takes inspiration from neoclassical architecture of 18th century Europe. The company said all 444 units have been sold out, bringing Danube’s total sales value to over Dh2 billion.

Affordable luxury will remain a safe bet in the market, according to Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group, as he expects a rise in the number of property owners venturing into the holiday home market with the influx of tourists this year. “In the year of the Expo 2020, we believe the demand for homes will soar,” said Sajan. “Many homes will be offered to tourists as holiday homes through different online channels and our investors and buyers stand to gain from the rising demand this year.”

This, along with new regulations recently announced in Dubai, including five-year visas for tourists, have increased the incentive to invest on premium-quality housing with an affordable price tag. “(In affordable housing), you can’t go wrong at this price,” said Sajan.

Atif Rahman, director and partner of Danube Properties, said the five-year visa, coupled with Dubai’s extensive air travel options, will transform the emirate into a “weekend getaway”, effectively boosting the housing demand. “I’ve spoken to a few of my friends from different parts of the world and I got the same response from all of them: Dubai is going to be our weekend getaway now,” said Rahman.

While the rise in tourist footfall puts an emphasis on luxury and premium residences, Rahman points out affordable housing will remain the backbone of the real estate industry. “It is the most important thing for any business, any industry,” he said. “Everybody loves affordability.”

Dh3-million upgrades

In this regard, he acknowledges the completion of Resortz leads the way for the company’s growing focus on affordable luxury housing. The project was developed as “a five-star luxury resort”, with amenities such as a green landscaped podium that converts into a green park for residents, open swimming pool, water features, outdoor catering and barbecue area.

“If you look at this project, it’s not luxury, it’s super luxury,” said Sajan.

The company went out of its way to deliver a polished luxury product, spending upwards of Dh3 million for upgrades and other add-on features, including a dedicated lift for people with special needs. “In this project we have done several upgrades,” said Rahman. “We have added several new areas like the family deck, the kids’ play, the party hall. A separate lift for people of determination is a rare phenomenon in this part of the world. However, we are one of the first developers to have installed it in Resortz.”.

Sajan admits the upgrades affected the bottom line, “but what’s more important is the customer should be happy. If they are happy, they will come back for more”.

First project completion in 2020

In its characteristic flair, Danube unveiled Resortz in a “Royal Magical” show, replete with fireworks and actors performing on the balconies of the apartments. The elaborate ceremony, according to Sajan, reflects the significance of the project.

“This is the first project completion announcement in the new year, and we started 2020 with a very positive note,” he said. “This is our third project to have completed in just seven months – a feat difficult to match.”

The project’s architecture was tricky to pull off, according to Rahman, but it was ultimately in line with the company’s decision to raise the bar with each new project. “In the local ambience, there was nothing available that was similar to this concept,” he said.

Neoclassical elements

One of the standout feature of the project is the dome, created in neoclassical style. The columns were also chosen from several historic references, such as the historic Piazza del Duomo in Florence, Italy. “Every corner of the project, you will find a consistency of theme,” said Rahman.

But while the exteriors are neoclassical, the units have a modern layout. “We’ve wanted to create that sense of going back in time, but have maintained a modern-day look inside the apartments,” Rahman explained. “That’s what the project is all about.”

The property also features a health club, swimming pool, tennis court, car parking and retail outlets.

With Resortz, Danube has delivered seven of 13 residential projects, with at least three more expected this year, including Miraclz, another ‘affordable luxury themed’ project also located in Arjan. “I’m planning to celebrate the completion of Miraclz later this year and I’m hoping it’s going to be another record-breaking completion celebration,” said Rahman.

Danube’s 13 projects combine for a total of 5,453 units and a value exceeding Dh4.1 billion. The company has delivered 2,155 units, or nearly half its development portfolio.

Influx of more units give residents more leeway to negotiate prices

Property developers are racing against time to complete and handover residential projects despite a sustained correction in prices in Dubai this year as they completed record 20,978 units in first half of 2019, says a new report.

According to the ‘Property Finder Trends’ report for January-June 2019, the total number of completed residential units included 14,999 apartments, 1,084 serviced apartments and 4,895 villas and townhomes.

Overall residential stock in Dubai is expected to reach 637,000 units by the end of next year, reflecting an increase of 10 per cent. Experts said a price correction and higher supply will promote Dubai as an affordable market, aside from offering residents and investors an opportunity to bargain a better property deal in one of the most popular and developed cities of the world.

Shaher Mousli, chairman of Arthur Mackenzy Properties Group, said the projected supply will surely create a surplus in available stock, which can – and in all probability will – result in an approximately 20 per cent softening in prices.

“The fact that would motivate sales is payment plans and relaxed terms as opposed to the price itself,” he said.

The report further said that an additional 38,426 residential units within 152 projects across Dubai are expected to come online this year as these units were at least 85 per cent completed by the end of July. It said 29,397 apartments, 3,387 villas or townhouses and 5,642 serviced apartments are expected to be done by the end of this year. However, even with a high completion status, not all projects will achieve that this year, going by previous materialisation rates.

Alan James Gammon, general manager of Samana Developers, said the current real estate market is dominated by news of deliveries as most developers were racing against time to deliver properties in time for Expo 2020 Dubai.

“The current summer lull, we believe that by offering a well-priced quality product it creates a massive opportunity for end-users who were unable to join the property market due too previously high prices, as well as investors who might opt for large block-buying for higher returns due to the attractive return options,” he said.

Gammon said there is a strong indication that the real estate market will continue to grow due to attractive pricing and payment plans, which will encourage middle-income families to buy homes for the first time. Families with stable jobs and steady incomes are expected to continue to enter the market to take advantage of market conditions, he added.

“We are a firm believers in the long-term sustainability of the UAE’s real estate market. That’s why we entered the market when many people started doubting it,” he added.

Lynnette Abad, director of data and research at Property Finder, said increased residential supply bodes well for residents as they will continue to have more leeway to negotiate prices in the rental market.

“With a record number of units expected for the second half of the year, we can expect prices to decline further as the market continues to absorb these units,” she said.

For the sales market, Abad said an influx of new supply, without being outstripped by demand, will continue to make the city more affordable both for residents as well as investors.

The report said 33,982 residential units were under construction in Dubai last year with a completion status of at least 65 per cent scheduled for 2019.

“Less than a few thousand of those units ended up completed by the end of 2018, and most were pushed to 2019. With nearly 20,000 already completed in the first half of 2019, and another 38,426 with a status of at least 85 per cent complete, the market is set for some record numbers in completions,” the report said.

Atif Rahman, director and partner at Danube Properties, said the Dubai economy has the power to absorb the controlled supply that continues to add to the current inventory as the emirate continues to attract property buyers.

“Besides, the current price and rent status make properties a very lucrative for investment and we expect massive investment in real estate in the next few months and years,” he said.

He said the announcement of Berkshire Hathaway entering Dubai is another evidence of how seriously global real estate expert feel about Dubai’s realty industry.

“In addition to that, a large number of end-users with stable jobs – who were priced out previously – are now finding the current prices lucrative and entering the market for the first time. Once this trend catches up, the trend will push up the demand high.”

Among notable handovers this year so far include the DT1 tower in Downtown Dubai, which added 130 apartments; 44 villas within Al Sarfa compound by wasl properties in Al Sufouh; 512 villas in the Sidra Community and another 1,312 villas in the Maple I and Maple II sub-communities of Dubai Hills Estate; 48 villas in Sobha’s Hartland Estate in Mohammed bin Rashid City; and 426 apartments in Emaar’s Vida Hills.

Within the Town Square by Nshama, there were six additional projects that were expected by the end of 2018. So far this year, 579 units in Safi Apartments and 680 additional units in Zahra Breeze were completed, and others can be expected to follow by the end of 2019.

The first phase of Arabella villas, Seventh Heaven in Al Barari, Acacia apartments in Park Heights within Dubai Hills Estate, 458 townhouses in Serena and Jenna apartments in Town Square are also expected to be completed in 2019. In addition, Phases 1 and 2 of Azizi Victoria yielding 2,550 apartments in total, Wind Tower 1 and 2 in Jumeirah Lakes Towers with 620 apartments and three towers yielding 1,427 apartments in Al Habtoor City are also expected to come online this year, according to the report.

In a rare joint interview, billionaire businessman Rizwan Sajan sits down with brother Anis and only son Adel to share what it really takes to build a lasting family dynasty.

Joining the family business was never going to be a walk in the park for Adel Sajan.

“You know how you have summer holidays between schools? I used to spend my summer holidays at our building materials shop in Deira,” he says, laughing.

Then again, if your father is Rizwan Sajan, the man who transformed that same, small Deira trading office into one of the region’s biggest suppliers of building materials – the Danube Group – you might as well skip the holidays to try and keep up.

A lot of the staff [had] the notion that this 22 year-old is coming in because he’s ‘daddy’s son’

Since the age of 13, that’s exactly what Adel’s been doing. At just 29 years old today, he has transformed the group’s home décor and furniture wing Danube Home (previously Buildmart) into a global force spanning the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.

The one-stop destination for furniture and interior design assistance offers customers up to 50,000 individual products sourced from the US, Germany, Turkey, Spain, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Italy.

But he’s not stopping there. Under young Sajan’s leadership, the brand aspires to open eight new stores annually, adding 500,000 sq ft of retail space over the next five years.

Had it not been for his father’s strict instructions to brand managers – “don’t treat him like my son, be extra strict with him” – Sajan might not have done any of the above. Luckily, his father threw him into the deep end from the very beginning.

“He sent me abroad with a million dollars and said, ‘Go and source chandeliers’. [Just like] you throw a kid into a swimming pool… he throw me into buying, without any experience…”

Despite many a missed summer parties, it worked out well for Sajan. “I started to enjoy it,” he recalls.

But if you’re driving a Ferrari to work, what’s not to enjoy?

“I made my dad buy me a Ferrari,” he says. “That was something I’d wanted for a long-time.”

Of course, the young Sajan is no stranger to the luxury life. In 2017, his father spent a whopping $30m on his son’s wedding, which was held over four days on a Bollywood-themed cruise in the Mediterranean. The 1,100 guest-list comprised the richest and most famous from India and the UAE, including Bollywood stars Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Gauhar Khan, and music directors Meet Bros and Vishal-Shekhar.

His father told Arabian Business at the time, “The wedding of my only son Adel is by far the most awaited event of my life and words cannot express the joy I feel.”

When we started the real estate business, we decided we are not going to target the luxury business

And while he’s all for providing a comfortable life for his family, the elder Sajan quickly jumps in to clarify his purchase of the Ferrari, stating that his son was only given the Italian supercar once he had fully earned it.

“Value of money is important. I remember [Adel] would get AED10 pocket money and he would ask for extra money, so I would say ‘go wash my car’,” says the founder and chairman of the Danube Group, himself worth at least $2.5 billion.

Though his son Adel has since switched to an equally lavish black Bentley with customised red interiors, to be fair, he’s bought it all on his own.

And why wouldn’t he? He is already looking to develop the brand by trying out the franchising model.

“We have tied up with different partners and opened in Tanzania, Seychelles, Uganda and now we have plans to open in Nepal, Egypt, Zambia and Lebanon,” he says.

“Currently, in franchises, we have about five stores in three countries, but, this year, we signed a lot of contracts. So by the end of 2019, we should be in 10 countries, excluding our home markets. Initially, it takes time, but it’s picking up.”

The numbers back Sajan’s statement. In 2014, he set a plan to grow the retail business as much as 10 times in the span of six years. For the past four years, he’s been on track.

His secret? “Luck,” he says. But something tells us good fortune played only a small part in his success. Because while joining the family business comes with lots of pros (a Ferrari is one example), Sajan had to prove he wasn’t ‘a daddy’s boy.’

“You get a big jumpstart in that, by the time I had graduated, I had experience in buying, selling, warehousing, logistics, marketing… so I had five or six years’ experience before I graduated.”

“But, one of the things [you face] when you come in as the chairman’s son is that a lot of the staff will have the notion that they have this 22 year-old coming in because he’s ‘daddy’s son’ [and they say] does he really deserve it? It takes a couple of years [to] get the team on board and prove yourself,” he says.

His uncle, Anis, was still in college when he, too, was asked to join his brother, Rizwan, in leading the firm.

“He said, ‘Why don’t you come over [to Dubai]?’ and I said ‘why not?’”

By the end of 2019, we should be in 10 countries, excluding our home markets. Initially, it takes time, but it’s picking up

Now the group’s managing director, Anis says he had “no second thoughts” about leaving school to work alongside his brother.

Similarly to Adel, Anis credits being “at the right place at the right time” as the reason behind the company’s ability to grow at a 30-40 percent rate.

But chairman Rizwan says it’s largely to do with smart recruitment. “Recruitment was the key – getting the right people, making sure they are handling the right things. When you are going at that speed, you have to look not only at the numbers and the sales, but make sure the processes are in control. Because you can be taken for a ride if you are not controlling the processes, the logistics department, the HR department,” the elder Sajan says.

The rapid rise he’s speaking of appears to be still going. This time, in the company’s development arm Danube Properties, which was set up in June 2014 with a focus on affordable housing and an initial AED500m ($136m) launch of townhouses at Al Furjan.

Since then, it has continued to expand its development portfolio, with 12 projects as of April this year and a development portfolio of over 5,000 units and combined value exceeding $1bn.

Last year, despite a slowdown in Dubai’s real estate market, Danube Properties recorded a 78.5 percent jump in sales of residential units, bringing its total market share of off-plan sales to 10.6 percent, up from 5 percent in 2017.

“When we started the real estate business, we decided we are not going to target the luxury business [because]… there’s a huge population of expats [in Dubai]. How will the expats be able to buy, as they don’t have that kind of money? Then we came up with the affordable housing idea,” says the chairman.

“I have a lot of competitors and everyone asks me ‘how are you so successful?’” he says.

I’d love to slow down, but unfortunately, it’s in my genes to work

His secret? The 1 percent plan. “You pay a little down payment, and that formula worked a lot. Then we also had our Danube brand for nearly 25 years… Because we are in the building materials business, it is easier to find the right architect, [so] when we launch, we are able to sell very fast and then, most importantly, to find the right contractor. Because it is easy for them to work with us as 60 – 70 percent of materials required is laying with us,” he says.

While Sajan admits the real estate market is “low,” his formula is simple: launch one project at a time.

“If that is sold successfully, we go to the next one,” he says assertively, meaning there’s no need for the company to have a land bank in Dubai, he adds, particularly at a time when land prices are falling.

“We don’t have a land bank. We buy one at a time. The price is not going up, so there’s no point having a land bank. We buy the land as and when we need it… Land prices have come down, I say about 20-25 percent in the last couple of years.”

But Expo 2020 Dubai might very well change that, according to his brother Anis.

“I’m sure the Expo is going to definitely help. History says wherever an Expo has happened, whether it is Milan or Shanghai, the after-effects have been beneficial… Expo will get more and more people to come to this country and that will help the real estate market,” he says.

By the time I had graduated, I had experience in buying, selling, warehousing, logistics, marketing

Will the Sajan family itself need help when chairman Rizwan retires? It’s unlikely.  “Slowing down is very difficult for me,” he admits. “I’d love to slow down, but unfortunately, it’s in my genes to work…”

While it’s only a matter of time before the next generation of Sajans begin their grooming and ultimate takeover of the Danube dynasty, judging by the younger Adel’s skipping of summer holidays to work in his father’s building materials shop, the hard work gene definitely runs in the family.