Friday, February 18, 2011

Dubai Real Estate - Past, Present and Future

Over the years, there have been a number of positive changes in Dubai's property sector. One of the most important developments was undoubtedly the 2002 ruling that allowed foreign ownership of properties in freehold areas of Dubai. This was followed by the enactment of a law that made escrow accounts compulsory for those Dubai developers selling off-plan properties. These accounts provided significant security to buyers, instilling in them greater confidence to invest in Dubai properties.

In consequence, Dubai's property sector matured rapidly. Some signs of a healthy and mature real estate market are stability in property prices, increased transparency in real estate laws, protection of investor's rights and greater competition among developers.

With all this being implemented, Dubai's real estate sector was bound to attract a substantial amount of investment. Dubai has become well known all over the world for constantly introducing world class projects that offer unique opportunities, strong mass appeal, and high returns with a mixture of excitement and enthusiasm.

Efforts by the Government of Dubai to establish a regulatory framework through Real Estate Regulatory Authority and Dubai Land Authority that addresses company laws, financial laws and real estate laws has given both private and institutional investors greater confidence in investing in Dubai.

As always, a solid regulatory foundation is critical to encourage foreign investment anywhere. The rulers and Government of Dubai have always sought to promote a strong natural association between Dubai and luxury. As a result most real estate developments from hotels to resorts to apartments and villas have focused on the premium segment of high net worth individuals and families. Additionally, with the increased land and construction costs in Dubai, developers have chosen to develop projects at the luxury level to make them more economically viable.

Research has proved that there exists strong end-user and investor demand for lifestyle themed projects both locally and internationally. For instance, golf and waterfront projects have tremendous lifestyle appeal and consequently have become a significant part of Dubai's development strategy. These luxury custom homes on the waterfront or in exclusive themed localities come fully landscaped providing such elements as resort style swimming pools, manicured gardens, outdoor seating areas and expansive patios for dining and entertaining. With a large number of villas already sold out, it has created a successful impact on those buyers who are looking for a unique property proposition.

Representing the wave of the future, resort homes provide residents with the experience of living in a first class resort all through the year. These homes have been designed by architects, interior designers and landscape planners from the hotel and resort industry. So the quality of finish and attention to detail in these resort villas could very well be compared to those found in first class hotels or resorts. To complete the overall experience, these villas come with a dedicated concierge service. It is these features that will distinguish resort homes from conventional housing.

Coldwell Banker is one of the oldest real estate firms in the world. The company was formed in 1906 in the USA and takes its name from the partnership of Colbert Coldwell and Benjamin Banker. Today it has an international presence in most of the world's real estate hotspots. The firm's commitment to customer service and professionalism continue to be the cornerstones of its business philosophy. We believe that our progress depends upon yours. Do contact us if you are interested in investing in the Dubai property market, buying or selling in the Dubai real estate market, or want to rent property in Dubai for the short or long term.

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Aparments for rent in Dubai

Dubai Real Estate Properties - Why Britons Prefer Dubai As Their Second Home

Britons prefer Dubai as their second home because it is one of the fastest emerging cities in the world. According to recent research, more than 100,000 Britons have purchased homes in Dubai since 2002.

British real estate investors are quite interested in investing in Dubai real estate market because of its tax-free status, brilliant services, enviable lifestyle and more importantly low crime rate.

Sunny weather all year long is also the pivotal factor behind popularity of Dubai real estate among British investors. It is worth mentioning in this regard that in UK chilly and damp conditions is the order of the day especially during winters.

Individual houses

Most of the UK residents prefer living in individual houses [attached or detached] in Dubai. When buying house in Dubai, British investors also look out for a small garden where they can organize tea party and children can play a bit. According to media reports, it doesn't really matter for British people whether their house is situated in a beach front or a desert.

Disposable income

Dubai real estate market is tailor made for real estate investors who possesses disposable income. This is because of the simple reason that there is an increase of around 15 to 20 per cent in terms of capital appreciation in Dubai. If experts are to be believed, the overseas home market of Dubai has matured tremendously. Few years back, Dubai was widely been regarded as the ideal Investment for speculators interested in getting fast profit.

Rental yields

This is not the case anymore because current market trend are only suited to those investors who are interested in owning a home or investors who want to cash steady investment returns through resale market and high rental yields on finished properties. Rental yields in UK are around three to four per cent annually, which is quite low as compared to the seven to ten per cent of Dubai. Taking this into account, there is hardly a surprise that most of the Britons prefer Dubai as their second home.

Conclusion

This trend of Britons preferring Dubai as their second home is going to continue in the coming years especially after the introduction of Freehold Property Law in 2006. Freehold Property Law allows non-GCC citizens the right to buy freehold properties in designated areas of Dubai.

Renting Dubai Properties For Expatriates

If you are moving to Dubai for work you may be planning on renting a house or flat to live in during your stay there. One thing to keep in mind is that you will not be able to rent any properties unless you are the holder of a residential visa. If your company is moving you, they will have to sign the lease or rental promise instead. In the event that your employer signs the rental agreement, they will be the one who will pay the bill and then work out a plan with you. If you hold the residential visa, you can choose the house or flat you want to rent and you will be required to sign any subsequent paper work and will be responsible for the payment of all rents. In this case the employer will often keep your passport for the entire rent period, though this is different from company to company.

Another complicated thing, while renting an apartment in Dubai, is that almost all the owners require the whole payment in advance for one year. Because most people do not have this amount of money the renting process usually happens the following way. You will provide 4 cheques to the property owner that will be cashed by him every quarter. If he tries to cash the cheque and there is not enough money on your banking account you will have problems with both the bank and the property owner.

The best way to find property to lease is to go to a realtor who specialises in renting properties in Dubai. You will need to pay these specialists a percentage of the yearly lease, typically five percent, for them to place you in a flat. This can be well worth the cost as they will have photographs and demographic locations for you to choose from. If you know the area of Dubai you will be working at, a realtor can show you apartments in the same area as they are well versed in the city and the layout of the city. You will not need to do much leg work yourself if you allow a realtor to do this for you.

If you prefer to do most of the leg work when finding a flat or home to rent in Dubai, you can use the internet as a tool to aid you in finding apartments for rent in Dubai. If you search in your web browser for rental properties in Dubai, you will find results for forum boards and realtors that deal in Dubai rentals. Your best option in this instance is to go with the forums that specialise in out of country rentals. These are typically people who own properties that they are looking to lease and have posted them on the forum boards. You can post replies with any questions you may have regarding the property and then decide if the property is suited to you or not. This is a great tool and will typically save you realtor fees as the homes are owned by those who post them.

When renting an apartment you should also consider obvious things like location. The things to consider is distance from parks, the city and shopping centres, the beach and your job. I cannot provide exact advice in this matter because it depends on what is more important for you.

For example if you work in Media or Internet City it is not a good idea to have an apartment in Bur Dubai or Deirah because you will spend more than 4 hours per day only driving to your job and back. These precious hours can be very well spent on fine Dubai beaches with your family. Instead it is a better idea to rent an apartment in "the Gardens" or "the Greens" regions, which are both very close to Dubai Internet and Media city. At least you can look for apartments on the Jumeirah road it will be closer to both your work and beaches.

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