Anxious developers offer hot deals

As home loans become more difficult to obtain, developers and brokers have begun offering a variety of payment options to entice end-users into the market so that buying, selling and renting can continue.

Real estate companies, including Emaar Properties, Dynasty Zarooni and Gowealthy.com, have launched varied schemes to jump-start sales.

"We need to address the current short-term problem as most buyers do not have access to credit -mortgage or loan," Kabir Mulchandani, chief executive of Dynasty Zarooni, told Gulf News.

"That's why we have launched the monthly payment schemes so that the end-users could enter the market in a bigger way. We have also lowered our prices, both in rental and freehold properties."

The company has placed a large number of units in to the rental market - from the freehold sales, Kabir said.

"The flexible payment or monthly payment scheme will help the stocks to be released and utilised by end-users in the market as the demand for new supplies remain relatively high," he said.

Smart marketing, including attractive payment schemes, could help developers come out of the current real estate slump, some officials say.

"The market is now adjusting itself while there is a liquidity crunch. The banks are tightening lending rules," Peter Penhall, chief executive of Gowealthy.com - an online property portal, told Gulf News recently.

The company has launched a sales campaign for Axis Residences at the Dubai Silicon Oasis, being developed by GGICO, a publicly listed company.

It released 657 units allowing buyers to make payments in 100 monthly installments.

The first three per cent is to be paid at the time of booking.

Customer focus

"A good price, a great payment plan that helps end-users buy properties without seeking finance, and a good product are the three key elements that will help good developers overcome the current slump," Penhall said.

Last month, Emaar unveiled 'To Own' schemes aimed at making it easier for customers to purchase property in Dubai.

"The 'Plan to Own' and 'Rent to Own' programmes are aimed at strengthening the property sector by fac-ilitating easier purchases and making property more affordable for our cust-omers," Emaar CEO Issam Galdari said.

With mortgages harder to obtain these days, Mehdi Amjad, executive chairman of Omniyat, said his company was also considering new payment structures.

"We are considering different payment plans to encourage our customers.

"We have done that before, where we created a payment plan that 50 per cent was paid in construction and 50 per cent on completion," Amjad said.

There are plans to launch a new programme with a similar payment plan to the marketplace soon, Amjad said.

Additional reporting by Suzanne Fenton, Staff Reporter.