Dubai property: Will Downtown Jebel Ali join Dubai South in being next offplan hotspots?

Dubai: With each new business signing up as a tenant in Jebel Ali Free Zone, the wider Downtown Jebel Ali area is creating new opportunities for residential projects, including as freehold investments.

According to property market sources, investors can choose from the rising number of offplan launches at Dubai South – or they can head to residential projects getting built near JAFZA itself.

“There are two major anchor attractions in the wider Jebel Ali area – the new Al Maktoum International Airport that will be built,” said an estate agent. “And there is the existing and hugely influential Jebel Ali Free Zone. Both are creating new property investors and future residents.”

Azizi Developments has gone on sale with the ‘Abraham’ project in Downtown Jebel Ali, its third in the area. Prices start at Dh800 a square foot and with an average selling price of Dh1,400.   

“This is well below the JAFZA-area benchmark of Dh1,550 per square foot., which reflects pricing across multiple neighboring developers,” said Tizian Raab, spokesperson for Azizi. “We believe Azizi Abraham is a front-row seat to the economic engine of the UAE.”

The Downtown Jebel Ali is turning out to be one of Dubai’s fast-selling submarkets, with prices up by nearly 15%-17% in the past 12 months.

The reasons are clear – Dubai’s announcement of building the world’s biggest airport at Al Maktoum International has created instant demand. It is also speeding up development further down the Sheikh Zayed Road, alongside the expansion of the Metro lines.

Currently, Dubai South property prices range from Dh950 to about Dh1,300 per square foot., with a 20% capital appreciation year-on-year as of end June. “In many ways, the growth in residential freehold projects in Dubai South and Downtown Jebel Ali is only starting,” said an estate agent.