DUBAI
Dubai’s private developers sure had a good run in 2017, releasing as many as 30,109 units into the market. Compared to that, government-owned or affiliated master-developers released 13,919 units during the period.
The development arm of MAG Group had the highest set of releases among private developers, with 5,569 units, according to data issued by GCP-Reidin. Azizi, which had quite a busy second-half in 2017 with two back-to-back mega-launches, came in second with 4,452 units. Damac was placed third at 4,090 units, with the developer steady in adding to this buying options at its two master-developments, Damac Hills and Akoya Oxygen (both in Dubailand).
But at the top of the off-plan pipeline was Emaar, with 9,493 units released in 2017, the GCP-Reidin data notes. This tally has Emaar account for 22 per cent of Dubai’s overall sales transactions in 2017, while in value terms, it was 35 per cent.
With Dubai South and MBR City gaining in prominence as investor destinations, this year could see private developers retaining their edge on off-plan launches. But it will take a lot more time for private players to close the gap that the master-developers have had historically.
Within the ready space, Emaar and Nakheel accounted for 33 per cent of property sales transacted in 2017. “A comparison between sales in Emaar and Nakheel ready stock reveals that the former has a higher percentage in terms of value, whereas the latter is a dominant player in terms of volume,” as per the GCP-Reidin report. “The core reason for this is due to the composition of their transactional volumes. The bulk of Nakheel’s units has been in mid-income communities (such as International City, Discovery Gardens and Remraam), whereas Emaar has concentrated on the upper-end of the spectrum with Downtown and Marina.”
