Business | Property

Channel Sponsor

Inflation will not hurt property demand: Emaar

Emaar Properties said yesterday that soaring inflation in the UAE was unlikely to hit demand for real estate in the second-largest Arab economy.

  • Staff Report
  • Published: 23:36 June 9, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Increases in raw materials prices, Al Abbar said, are not a worrying factor as most of its projects are long-term.
  • Image Credit: Karl Jeffs/Gulf News

Dubai: Emaar Properties said yesterday that soaring inflation in the UAE was unlikely to hit demand for real estate in the second-largest Arab economy.

Inflation in the UAE probably soared to an at least 20-year peak of 11.4 per cent last year from 9.3 per cent a year earlier, according to a Reuters poll last month, as rents and food prices jumped.

"It will not impact [demand] because it is a global phenomenon," Emaar chairman Mohammad Al Abbar told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference in response to a question regarding the impact of price rises on property demand. Increases in raw material prices, Al Abbar said, are not a worrying factor as most of its projects are long-term and the company procures raw materials in bulk. Property prices have been soaring in the UAE as supply fails to keep up with demand.

Dubai kicked off the property boom when it first allowed foreigners to invest in property in 2002.

Emaar posted its second decline in profit in three quarters in April as revenue stagnated and marketing and selling costs rose.

Yesterday at the news conference, Emaar unveiled a water fountain project, to be operational by March 2009.

The total development value of the Burj Dubai Lake, the fountain and its advanced filtrations systems is Dh800 million. The company believes that the fountain, along the lines of The Fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas but 25 per cent larger, will be a major tourist attraction, drawing over 10 million visitors annually.

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

Property

Gulf News
Gulf News classifieds
  5. Browse all jobs
  5. Browse all cars
  6. Browse all properties
  5. Browse all classifieds
Popular in Business
Business Editor's choice
Mortgages: there's light at the end of the tunnel
Banking

Mortgages: there's light at the end of the tunnel

UAE buyers are securing home loans again

Popular in GNTV
Popular in Pictures