Long lines of property buyers, which were frequent in the pre-Covid era, have returned to Dubai. As the real estate market recovers, investors and end-users are lining up to get a piece of the new properties being launched by reputable developers.
The 200-plus units of Shams Townhouses in Town Square, developed by UAE-based property developer Nshama, were snatched up by investors and end-users within a few hours of their inauguration over the weekend. In the early hours of Saturday, long lines of potential purchasers were visible outside Nshama Townsquare Sales Centre.
Jeff Raju Kuruvilla, a sales manager with Positive Properties, said he was one of the earliest in the queue.
“By around 4am on Saturday, there were more than 100 people waiting in line. At 9am, when the gates opened, people started rushing in for their tokens. It reminded me of the scenes eight years ago when the Dubai property market was booming.”
Jeff was in the queue for buyers who wanted to get their hands on this project.
“The good thing about getting one of the earlier tokens is that my buyer can take a pick of the property they want rather than settle for what is left over,” he said.
“As soon as I got my token, I called my buyer. One of them who was coming from Abu Dhabi was already on his way. He came, paid the money and picked out the townhouse he wanted. He was very happy.”
First-time buyers
According to Jeff, who has been in the industry for over nine years, the number of first-time home purchasers is on the rise.
“In the last couple of months, I have had a lot of clients who are buying their home in the UAE for the first time,” he said. “There are a number of reasons why people choose to buy here. The tax-free factor and the ease to do business are two of the most common reasons.”
Jeff added that the recent fluctuations of the stock market have also contributed to the interest in real estate in Jeff’s opinion. “When you have a property, the value of it is seldom going to crash like stocks crash,” he said. “It is a physical asset that will continue to have demand. So a lot of people think property investment is one of the safest bets now,” he concluded.
Why the project had people lining up
The Nshama project, according to real estate industry insiders, is oversubscribed and sold out in three hours.
The townhouses were reasonably priced, starting at Dh1.62 million for a three-bedroom house with a built-up size of 2,100 square feet and up to Dh2.1 million for a four-bedroom house with a built-up space of 2,381 square feet. The buyers were offered a 10% downpayment, 40% during development, and 50% when the project was completed in 2024.
In the past, investors and end-users in Dubai have lined up in the early hours of the morning on the day of a big developer’s project debut, such as Emaar Properties.
Danube Properties’ Gemz project, which was also sold out on the same day, saw large queues earlier this month. End-users and brokers flocked to the idea.
On the day of the auction of its 360 apartments in phase two of Murooj Al Furjan West in September 2021, master developer Nakheel saw a good reaction, with long lines of investors. Dh1.85 million was the starting price for the three- and four-bed units in Al Furjan.
The real estate boom is back and how!
Following the effective treatment of the Covid-19 outbreak, Dubai’s real estate has seen a significant comeback, led by villas and townhouses, with foreign investors returning to the emirate.
According to the latest data from the Dubai Land Department, there were 6,651 real estate sales transactions worth Dh18.3 billion in May 2022, making it the highest May in terms of real estate sales volume and value in the last 13 years. When compared to May 2021, this is a 51.5 percent increase in sales volume and a 65.4 percent increase in sales value.
In addition, new property purchasers who are interested in purchasing Golden Visa are in high demand.