DUBAI
Investors looking to acquire properties near Dubai’s next generation of mega-malls can have their pick. At MBR (Mohammad Bin Rashid) City, with the launch of full-scale construction for the Meydan One Mall, they will be able to access units at about the Dh1,100-a-square-foot-and-over range.
That compares with the Dh2,000 per square foot average at the Downtown and near The Dubai Mall and the Dh1,600 psf average for an apartment at Dubai Creek Harbour, where Emaar has launched The Tower — the world’s next tallest structure — and is to unveil a full-scale retail destination to serve the 6 square kilometre location. (There is also the Deira Islands Mall, but the towers surrounding it will only offer apartments on lease.)
“MBR City could be a longer term beneficiary from any amenity that is being built within and which could add value for an investor,” said Latif Habib, CEO of Fortune 5, which is handling the sales of the homes at Cassia, part of The Fields development from G&Co. (The four-bedroom units are being offered for Dh3.2 million. The Fields itself is part of District 11 at MBR City. G&CO is also the name behind the Millennium Estates, also part of MBR City.) If investors still need convincing, buyers are being offered a Dh460,000 rental guarantee over two years at Cassia units. “Even if the rentals in the adjoining areas are Dh180,000-Dh190,000, we remain reasonably confident of achieving our guarantees,” Habib said.
“The district already features a residential component in the form of the Meydan built homes for Emirates airline staff. With its own retail elements and plazas as well as three highway exit/entry routes, the expectation is that District 11 will tap investor interest.”
Other developers are also zeroing in on the wider MBR City. Recently, Azizi Developers announced it had picked up 190 plots there, while the Sobha Group recently confirmed that 70 per cent of phases 1 and 2 at Sobha Hartland have been sold. It comprises of G+8-storey buildings. (Phase 3 of the project will be launched shortly.)
