Dubai Property Speculation
Country: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Put the words ‘biggest’ and ‘tallest’ into a search engine and invariably ‘Dubai’ will pop up. Come to think of it such is the towering ambition of this tiny Emirate in the Middle East, the Crown Prince is probably about to table a bid for Google as a short-cut to global dominance. Ears pop as you fly up the glass lift of your Dubai hotel and when you draw back the curtains, swallowing your vertigo, you swear that shimmering apartment block now blocking your view of the 100 other shimmering apartment blocks was not there yesterday. It probably wasn’t, such is the pace of build. Here construction workers, mostly cheap Asian labour but still earning far more than at home, operate 24/7 and that is before overtime. Dubai, on the Arabian Gulf, is growing faster than any city on earth, although Shanghai might run it close in the Building Olympics. Anywhere else in the world and this has “bubble set to burst” writ large across its receding skyline. It may well do, for history will either judge Dubai to be the most prodigious feat of engineering in the modern world, or the harshest of lessons in the perils of rampant property speculation. “UK investors continue to make up a large percentage of overseas buyers in Dubai. There are fears the market is set for a correction due to an oversupply of new property. The unknown is the level of pent up demand for these units. Many may remain empty or only used a few weeks a year,” states Mark Leale, marketing director of Dubai Luxury Homes. Ultimately it depends on the whims and welfare of one man, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. It is easier to call him chairman of Dubai Inc. State-owned master developers doing most of the building may not scream democratic process, but it gets things done and, when you compare it with the UK’s chronic planning inertia, autocracy has its merits. Dubai has a crown prince, Britain had a clown Prescott, our very own Falstaff, but without the sense of humour. Mind you, if the UK embraced the Dubai development model, imagine the uproar if the bosses of Britain’s biggest house builders doubled as high-ranking planning ministers with the power to grant approvals for their own applications.
Tales of Sheikh Mohammed’s attention to detail are legion. Apparently in the early hours of the morning the ruler drives his white jeep – number plate Dubai 1 – down the dusty Sheikh Zayed road to cast his eye over his desert kingdom and check for litter. Eminently believable, until you try driving down the Sheikh Zayed road any time. It makes the M25 on a soggy Bank Holiday look like a F1 Grand Prix circuit. Never mind. A Metro is on its way and new roads will be built to ease congestion. Emaar, a massive state developer that recently bought UK estate agency Hamptons, is building the world’s tallest tower – The Burj Dubai. There are those three vast man-made islands, The Palms, modestly referred to as “the eighth wonder of the world”, which you can see from space. Who says so? Neil Armstrong? Hint at any cynicism and Nakheel, one of Dubai’s huge government-owned developers, will probably arrange for a press trip to the Southern Cross – the constellation, not the pub – to prove the point.
There will be the world’s biggest shopping mall, which explains why the Beckhams have a villa on Palm Jumeirah. An indoor ski slope in a land where you can boil an egg on your balcony most mornings suggests that with enough money, man can still tweak the dials of global warming. Oh, and properties – thousands and thousands of them, as business, tourism and e-commerce is sold Dubai as its superhighway. “A true understanding of the overall plans for the future of Dubai is important when deciding where to buy. There are still good opportunities for buying Dubai property. The local mortgage market is still fairly immature and local lending is not always available on properties for non-residents,” says Leale. Dubai has left no grain of sand unmoved to create a global super city that before oil was discovered in 1966, was little more than a collection of Arab fishing villages. The black gold is running out, hence the need for tourism, jobs and sport. “The UK market, representing around 30 per cent of our customers, is still growing,” says Peter Riddoch, chief executive of DAMAC Properties, the largest private freehold developer in Dubai. Only in Dubai could purchasers be put into a draw to win a private jet, a sales incentive being run by DAMAC, following on from their free Jaguar promotion. You have no doubt that Dubai will eventually deliver the infrastructure, with water, electrics, sewage and transport key ingredients to a sustainable property market. The vision of the crown prince is so focused, so assured and unfettered by petty bureaucracy and regulation, which is easy when you make the rules. What he cannot control is inward investment. Dubai can invite it – offering freehold ownership to foreigners in designated areas – and encourage it, but every apartment needs an owner, or tenant and everyone needs to buy into his dream.
You can artificially create an island. You cannot artificially create a community, especially one built in towers of Babel, as Dubai bids to become the crossroads of the modern world – the globe’s halfway inn. We shall see.
First published in July 2007.
Some information contained within this article may have changed since it was first published. Homes Overseas strongly advises you to seek current legal and financial advise from a qualified professional.
Rupert Bates
There's also a range of articles for you to read about buying property in United Arab Emirates:
As well as our overseas news stories affecting the property market in Dubai .
Or view our range of property for sale in Dubai.
Some information contained within this article may have changed since it was first published. Homes Overseas strongly advises you to seek current legal and financial advise from a qualified professional.
Some properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Price: £56,420
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Type: Apartment
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Bedrooms: 1
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A one bedroom apartment for sale in The Lawns 1 located in the upcoming area of Jumeirah Village in Dubai, UAE. Ref.# AP101367 For more information regarding this property, please contact our Customer Service Helpdesk on +971 ...
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Price: £58,451
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Type: Apartment
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A studio apartment for sale in Building 184 located in the upcoming area of Discovery Garden in Dubai, UAE. Ref # AP101954. For more information regarding this property, please contact our Customer Service Helpdesk .
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Price: £58,451
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Type: Apartment
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A studio apartment for sale in Building 184 located in the upcoming area of Discovery Garden in Dubai, UAE. Ref # AP101852. For more information regarding this property, please contact our Customer Service Helpdesk on +971 4 ...
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Price: £69,764
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Type: Apartment
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Discovery Gardens offers a leisure lifestyle to its residents. This community offers beautifully constructed apartments offering breathtaking views of superb gardens.
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Price: £75,418
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Type: Apartment
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A one bedroom apartment for sale in Mediterranean style located in the popular area of Discovery Garden in Dubai, UAE. Ref # AP101655. For more information regarding this property, please contact our Customer Service Helpdesk ...
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Price: £78,593
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Type: Apartment
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A studio apartment for sale in Marina Diamond 2 located in the popular area of Dubai Marina in Dubai, UAE. Ref #: AP106331. For more information regarding this property, please contact our Customer Service Helpdesk on +971 4 ...
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Price: £80,134
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Type: Apartment
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This exclusive property in Dubai is well developed in Jumeirah Lake Towers. Lake View comprises of 40 storeys, which is designed by a team of well known architects.
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Price: £80,597
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Type: Apartment
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A studio type apartment for sale in Jumeirah Bay (X1) Tower located in the popular area of Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai, UAE. Ref # AP107469. For more information regarding this property, please contact our Customer Service ...
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Price: £81,529
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Type: Apartment
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The La Fontana di Trevi is a magnificent Dubai property situated very close to the Arabian Ranches. It comprises of six floors of fashionable architecture with each floor having 21 majestic apartments.
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Price: £82,397
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Type: Apartment
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A studio apartment for sale in Jumeirah Village Circle located in the popular area of Jumeirah Village in Dubai, UAE. Ref # AP107884. For more information regarding this property, please contact our Customer Service Helpdesk ...
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