Property boom sparks feverish interest in Dubai

London: Interest in Dubai's vast array of property developments is at fever pitch in the West as the emirate continues to enjoy a property boom, officials said.

Global real estate today, especially in a market like Dubai, is attracting increasing attention from different parts of the world.

Eventual end-users are people who generally travel and work all the time and would like a home away from the active city life. The Palms and The World as well as other waterfront projects are attracting investors from the UK and other western European countries.

Traditionally, island property has always been away from the mainland and access has been limited. In the case of the Dubai islands and other waterfront properties, it offers all luxury amenities and is still not far from the mainland.

Imtiaz Khoda, CEO of Profile Group, told Gulf News during the launch of the Thailand island resort here, "The island resort Jasmine Garden was announced only a few weeks back, and we've already sold about 40 per cent of the total units and a large chunk of this was bought by West European investors."

"In Western European markets, property has always been very expensive to buy. And you're getting less returns than the interest you're paying. You might be borrowing at 6 per cent and your return would be 4 or 5 per cent and naturally that doesn't seem very attractive."

"And overseas people look for hotspots, and Dubai is a prime spot today. UK buyers are always looking for new opportunities."

Another factor that can be attributed to this growth is, in addition to the marketing activities, great awareness because of the tourism industry in Dubai, of which the British form a major part.

Adnan Dawood, senior marketing and PR officer for Nakheel's World islands says, "Buyers in the past had their reservations, but now that the projects are nearing completion and results are positive, interest has gone up. The UK is in fact one of the top three buyers in most of Nakheel's projects."