Payment options eased for Emirates City

Dubai: Ajman developer R Holding has apparently relaxed investor instalments on its Dh15 billion Emirates City development in light of the current financial crisis.

According to an investor, R Holding management told him they have "postponed or relaxed the payment of instalments for four months, considering the global financial crunch".

Emirates City is expected to be completed in 2010.

No one at R Holding was available for comment when contacted by Gulf News.

However, BSEL Infrastructure, developer of the seven towers comprising Jawahir Al Emarat, also in Emirates City, said R Holding's decision is dependent on the individual developer.

"We're not [relaxing payment plans] but mainly because none of our investors have asked for relaxed payments, as most are paying around two per cent [monthly]," Christina Cabading, president of BSEL Infrastructure, told Gulf News.

This is yet another sign of an increasingly mature market targeting end-users rather than the speculator-fuelled free-for-all that was seen early last year.

Many developers in Dubai are revising payment plans or coming up with new schemes to help potential buyers.

Emaar kicked off the trend in November by launching two new schemes, 'Plan to Own' and 'Rent to Own', both designed to help cash-strapped buyers in a mortgage-starved market.

Omniyat Properties, too, said in November that it was also revising its payment plans to make it easier for the buyer.

"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," Mehdi Amjad, executive chairman of Omniyat, said earlier.

Dynasty Zarooni then announced a monthly payment plan so that end-users can enter the market.

Relaxed payment plans are a sign of a fast-maturing market, according to Chris Dommett, chief executive of mortgage broker, John Charcol.

"Developers can't afford to be as stiff as they were before. The market is maturing and heading towards the end-user," Dommett said.