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Investor confidence in UAE market has increased tremendously, Rizwan Sajan says

Oversupply in Dubai is a thing of the past and developers should not worry about it as demand is strong and there are no new mega project launches that can cause massive oversupply again in the market, said Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group.

“There is no oversupply in the market because if that was the case then we would not be selling our Skyz project successfully. Even other developers who have launched their projects are also able to sell them well. It’s because investor confidence in the UAE market has gone up tremendously both from local and overseas investors. That’s why whatever the supply is coming in the market has been successfully sold,” Sajan told Khaleej Times during an interview on the first day of Cityscape on Tuesday.

Danube Properties recently launched Dh475 million Skyz project in Arjan. The developer has already sold more than 50 per cent of the project. Sajan expects to sell around 70 per cent of the project by the end of this month and 100 per cent by year-end. After selling Skyz this year, the developer will launch its next project in the first quarter of 2022.

“For the next few years, any developer should not worry about selling the project because demand is coming in from all over the world. I don’t think we should have any problem as far as selling is concerned. I don’t think oversupply will happen because a lot of people from abroad are investing here. Developers are not launching big projects but one or two buildings and that’ll not cause oversupply,” said Danube’s founder.

Property prices in Dubai have been recovering steadily and are expected to increase by 20 per cent in two years, offering a 5 to 10 per cent annual return on investment. In the last 6 months, prices have gone up by 20 to 30 per cent in certain areas.

“Buyers of the properties can expect to benefit from 20 per cent premium if they sell the property after two years when we will hand over Skyz to the buyers. This translates to a straight 15 per cent annual profit – making it a very high return on investment,” he said, adding that those who’ll shy away from investing, might miss the boat.

“Think of those who bought properties last year when the prices and market sentiment was the lowest in the middle of the pandemic – and made a killing by selling them at 30-40 per cent premium earlier this year – a solid return in just six months,” added Sajan.

Danube Properties, a leading real estate developer in the UAE, on Tuesday launched its new freehold Mediterranean-themed residential project Skyz Tower with a development value exceeding Dh475 million.

Located in Arjan master-planned community, the project will go on sale from October 30 with studio apartment prices starting from Dh399,000, one-bedroom from Dh599,000, and two-bedroom from Dh799,000.

“Due to the sell-out of all of our previous projects, we were running out of stocks since the beginning of the year. This necessitated the launch of the new project,” said Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group.

“The payment plan for Skyz Tower is very attractive from the end-user point of view. For example, the buyer has to pay only Dh60,000 as a down payment for a one-bedroom apartment and a Dh24,000 registration fee. Then it’s just one per cent per month. The payment plan has been designed keeping in mind that it doesn’t hit the pocket of the end-users, who are mainly from the working class. They’re our target customers and they happily pay this instalment every month because it falls within their budget,” added Sajan.

With Skyz, Danube’s development portfolio exceeds 7,000 units with a combined value exceeding Dh5 billion.

This marks the first real estate project launch after the Covid-19 pandemic by Danube, reflecting confidence in the market that is witnessing a gradual upturn.

Sajan said the real estate sector is back and off-plan properties are in demand.

“Demand for affordable apartments is very strong because 85 per cent of expats here still stay in rented apartments. They’re our main target market because everybody has a dream to own a house in Dubai. The majority of our customers have been end-users who were staying in rental apartments and wanted to shift to their own apartments,” he said.

Danube founder said Asians remain dominant buyers, led by the Chinese, Indians and Pakistanis.

Sajan believes it’s better to have one’s own apartment because residential rents have started rising in Dubai.

“There are some investors from Europe as well. In fact, locals are also investing to earn rental income as rents have started to recover now. Outlook for the local property market is very strong for the next three to five years. The demand will pick up further, hence the prices, because a good number of high net worth individuals are relocating to the UAE,” he said, adding that some highly developed countries are still under lockdown but it’s business as usual in Dubai and the UAE, which gives further confidence to foreign investors.

The reality is that Dubai’s residential market has now shifted in favour of tenants, says Danube’s Rizwan Sajan

House rents and prices of freehold properties are subject to demand-supply and other market conditions, and therefore should be left to the market forces to decide – unless things go out of hand due to unnatural or drastic changes that affect the tenants – when the regulators step in.

That’s the way mature real estate markets function across the world. In those countries, rent laws are formulated to protect the tenants, rather than the landlords. Usually, the tenants outnumber the landlords – who are perceived to be well off on their own. Therefore, the rent laws in the developed countries are seen to be tenant-friendly.

The real estate market in the UAE, especially in Dubai, has reached a certain level of maturity over the last few decades. Therefore, the regulations should reflect that.

Dubai introduced a rent cap around 2005-2006 when rents had started to jump exorbitantly due to high demand. In those days, Dubai’s economy was growing at around 14-16 per cent per annum – thousands of jobs were created every month due to an unprecedented economic boom fuelled by the real estate and construction sectors.

The influx of people far outnumbered the supply of new homes. As a result, rents had started to jump 20-40 per cent per annum – forcing middle-income families to move into cheaper neighbourhoods in Sharjah and Ajman. It was a time when investors had started to build apartments and villas for freehold sale, but the deliveries were yet to materialise on a large scale.

The rent cap, therefore, was an important market intervention needed to protect the tenants at that time. However, the market has changed quite a lot over the last 15-16 years, shifting from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market.

The market then started to soften from 2016, silently, as supplies gradually caught up with demand. By 2018-19, the market had started to show signs of oversupply, resulting in price and rent correction. Both rents and prices continued to remain under pressure at the beginning of 2020 – when most landlords started to reduce rents in order to retain tenants.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic worsened the situation, due to losses in income, business, and job cuts. Following the relaxation of the lockdown in 2020, many families had to relocate to their home countries leaving homes vacant.

The real estate market witnessed a steep fall in prices and rents last year, forcing landlords to re-think their strategies. Rental returns dropped from 6-8 per cent down to 4-5 per cent – although still high compared to most real estate markets in the world.

While property prices are stabilizing due to an influx of foreign investors returning to the market since January this year, rents are yet to stabilise. In this context, a rent freeze law could come only to protect the interests of the landlords. However, the question is, can a law help stabilise the rents? Let’s look at the possible scenarios.

If a tenant sees that the rent demanded by the landlord is ‘high’ compared to declining rents, can the law force the tenant to continue to stay in the same premises, beyond the tenancy contract? The answer is ‘no’. The tenant can move to another apartment. And there is no shortage of units in the market.

So, if the tenant is free to leave to an apartment of his choice and his budget, can the draft rent law help the landlord? No. It will just encourage the tenant to shift to another apartment.

Contrary to many reports, the rent of a one-bedroom apartment begins from Dhs20,000 in certain neighborhoods in Sharjah and Dhs35,000 in Dubai. And it might go down further, due to the abundance in supply.

Most landlords might not realise it, but the rental income in Dubai is still higher than most developed markets. Rents of a Dhs1m two-bedroom apartment stand at around Dhs50,000 to Dhs60,000 per annum, fetching a 5-6 per cent return on investment, which is still better than most markets.

While landlords are used to increasing rents when the demand was high, they need to adjust their mindset to the low-demand scenario and the new norm. We are at the lower part of the real estate market cycle. Until demand picks up, we need to accept the current market reality. From a landlords’ market, it has now become a tenants’ market. This is the reality. Let’s face it.

Rizwan Sajan is the founder and chairman of Danube Group

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.