Wednesday August 5 2009

The UAE real estate market may see further drop in prices as most properties are still overpriced and the occurrence of real recovery remains difficult to predict, industry analysts told Emirates Business.

Wednesday August 5 2009

Dubai: Financial and investment advisory services provider, Mayfair Wealth Management (MWM), which is based in the Cayman Islands, Tuesday announced the launch of a new Sharia-compliant distressed property fund, worth $50 million (Dh183.7 million) in the UAE.

Tuesday August 4 2009

DUBAI - Residents who own property will have to leave the UAE every six months, in order to continue living here without a work visa, officials say.

Tuesday August 4 2009

ABU DHABI — The declining trend in apartment rents in Abu Dhabi, prevailing in the first half of this year, paused in July, according to a survey by the Khaleej Times and Asteco, a property management firm.

Tuesday August 4 2009

The future of Al Helio Downtown, a Dh4 billion master development in Ajman, remains uncertain as D'seco, the project's master developer, has yet not registered the project with Ajman Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Arra) or opened an escrow account, Emirates Business can reveal.

Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding, is reviewing its partnerships with building suppliers on the Dh4.7 billion (US$1.3bn) Universal Studios project in Dubailand, as well as the construction schedule, to try to cut costs.

Universal Studios, which was expected to include rides based on famous Hollywood films, 4,000 hotel rooms, retail outlets, and office and residential areas, was supposed to be finished next year, although it is now likely to be delayed by at least two years.

The move comes as a number of major Dubai projects in Dubai are being reviewed to accommodate tight liquidity, a slower sales environment and a fall in tourism.

Tatweer entered a joint venture with the US-based Universal Parks & Resorts to build the park in 2007, making it a key component of Dubailand, the emirate’s biggest planned tourist attraction.

While initial construction began in the middle of last year, work has since been hampered by the downturn.

“Given the dynamic changes in the market, the Universal Studios Dubailand team is reviewing both contractual agreements with some of its vendors and different project management options to deliver the project at the highest quality and lowest cost,” Tatweer said in a statement.

“Progress on the theme park continues and we will announce an opening date to the market in line with project milestones.”

The company insisted there had been no change in the plans for Dubailand, which was launched in 2003 and is estimated to be worth Dh325bn, and that Universal Studios remained an integral part of it.

The fate of a project planned by Six Flags, another US theme park giant, at Dubailand was called into question in June after the operator filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court.

At the time, Tatweer said it was still committed to bringing the Six Flags project to Dubailand.

“While we are aware of the restructuring we do not comment on the financial details of any of our partners,” the company said.

Tatweer said in December that the entire Dubailand development was under review because of the financial crisis, although details of the review are unlikely to come to light until a planned joint venture between Tatweer, Sama Dubai, Dubai Properties and Emaar Properties is finalised.

But developers are making the most of the lower construction costs caused by the downturn. Those costs are about 30 per cent lower than they were at their peak early last year.

Property consultants such as CB Richard Ellis, Colliers International and Cluttons have also been brought in to revalue projects.

“Construction and financial costs are the two burdens right now,” said Ian Albert, the regional director at Colliers. “Developers are looking quite closely at the phasing of projects and how phases will support each other financially.

Tuesday August 4  2009

The UAE is maintaining its population will jump by 6.3 percent to more than 5 million by the end of this year in the face of an economic slump that has seen thousands lose their lose and leave the country.

UAE daily Emirates Business reported on Tuesday the number of people living in the country will grow by around 300,000 in 2009 to 5.066 million, from 4.765 million at the end of 2008, citing figures from the Economy Ministry released the previous day.

The figures are the same as those released by the ministry in May.

The ministry said the national population will increase to 923,000 this year from 892,000 in 2008, while the expatriate population will rise to 4.143 million from 3.873 million.
 
In Dubai, the population will surge around about 7.8 per cent to 1.722 million by the end of the year, compared to 1.596 million at the end of 2008, the ministry said.

Abu Dhabi will see a 4.4 percent rise in its population to 1.628 million from 1.559 million, the ministry said.

The figures are the complete opposite of what almost all analysts are forecasting.

The global financial crisis has battered the UAE economy, and especially that of Dubai.

The real estate industry has ground to a halt, economic growth has slowed, thousands of expatriates have lost their jobs and several government-related companies are struggling to pay their debts.

EFG-Hermes  has projected the UAE population will decline 5.5 percent in 2009 led by a 17 percent drop in Dubai as thousands leave the Gulf state amid mounting job losses.

Swiss bank UBS has forecast Dubai's population will likely fall 10 percent in the coming two years.

UAE Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash even told the U.N. in June that the government expects a slowdown in the number of workers coming into the country and an increase in the number leaving.

Ghobash had earlier refuted forecasts by economists that the UAE's population will decline this year.

Source: Maktoob

Monday August 3 2009

Residential rents in Ajman have dropped by 20 per cent in the first half of 2009, and may fall further as new supply enters market in the short term, according to a new report.
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Monday August 3 2009

The fall in Dubai house prices slowed to 9 percent in the second quarter of 2009 from the first three months of the year amid concerns over job security, financing, project delays and cancellations, but are nearing the bottom after falling almost 50 percent since their peak late last year, U.K.-based real estate consultancy Colliers International said on Monday.

Monday August 3 2009

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti real estate sales plunged 47 percent in the second-quarter compared to the year earlier period, as a result of the global financial crisis, official data showed yesterday.