Dubai: Investors on the lookout for super-luxury properties in Dubai can now turn their attention to ‘1/JBR’, a signature development taking shape among the cluster of high-end towers in JBR and Dubai Marina.
There will only be 152 units across the 46 floors, split between two- to four- bedroom apartments and five-bedroom penthouses. Completion of the project – which was announced in September last - is scheduled for early 2019.
“Sections of the tower will be released for sale in different markets,” said Marwan Al Kindi, Executive Director for Sales and Sales Operations at Dubai Properties, the developer. “Registration is now open exclusively through our sales partner – Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty.
“Work has already begun on site and we will tender for the main works and appoint the lead contractor soon. We have great relationships with key players in the sector, with many projects under our belts together.
With every project we complete, we keep raising the bar in terms of quality, efficiency, and speed of delivery. That is what we are looking for throughout the contractor selection process – real project partners.”
On whether the developer had to do a lot of thinking on the timing of the sales process, Al Kindi said: “Our projects are strategically planned to cater to market demand based on our forecasts (and that are) based on conservative analysis and cautious projections.
“1/JBR is unique in terms of its niche… as it represents another landmark within a well-established destination that enjoys relatively stable market prices to position against.”
The developer declined to go into the details of the apartment prices, but data from the real estate consultancy Chestertons Mena estimates existing high-end towers at Dubai Marina such as La Reve and Cayan commanding between Dh2,300-Dh3,200 per square foot. The top-end towers at the JBR community is now at around Dh2,300-Dh2,400 per square foot.
For comparison’s sake, units at the Burj Khalifa rule with values between Dh3,500-Dh5,000 psf. The Residences at the Downtown are now between Dh2,100-Dh3,500.
“Luxury properties in these prime areas are considered as long term trophy assets and the current prices are highly attractive for such investors,” said Robin Teh, Country Manager – UAE at Chestertons Mena. “Furthermore, regional tensions have also attracted luxury property buyers from other parts of the Middle East. We foresee a favorable outlook for luxury properties in 2016.”
Since mid-last year, property values at JBR went through a relatively minor correction of 2 per cent, while those in Dubai Marina experienced a 3.5 per cent dip.
According to a new report by Global Capital Partners, concerns over the low oil price and what it means for Dubai real estate could be a tad overstated.
‘Dubai is the only exception within the GCC to have a low dependency on oil (6 per cent in 2016), as the city is diversified into other sectors such as tourism, retail and logistics,’ the report states. ‘It is this diversification of revenues that has allowed the city to adopt an expansionary fiscal policy. And even though foreign money flows will likely be impacted in the face of declining oil prices, the stimulus adopted by the government will cushion any deleterious impact.’
As to the likely effect this will have on property values, ‘Given the continued sustained stimulus that the government of Dubai has adopted, we opine real estate prices are likely to enter an inflection point sometime during the year as fiscal policy acts as a fillip to both consumer spending and aid in the recovery of asset prices.’
