Dubai Holding Real Estate plans to sell 6,000 units in two years amid property recovery

The government-owned company is bullish on sales amid a rebound in the emirate's real estate market

Dubai Holding Real Estate has a number of master developments under construction including Port de la Mer, City Walk Central Park and Mudon. Photo: DHRE

Government-owned Dubai Holding Real Estate plans to sell about 6,000 units this year and the next as the developer aims to capitalise on the continued recovery of the UAE property market.

The company, which was created through the consolidation of Dubai Properties and Meraas as well as two other entities – North25 and Ejadah – last year, sold about 1,500 units in the six months to June 2021 and expects to sell a further 1,500 units by the end of the year.

Dubai Holding Real Estate plans to start new phases of master developments, as it taps into an uptick within the UAE’s property market

“We’ve certainly seen strong demand in the market this year,” Alexander Davies, chief commercial officer of the DHRE told The National in an interview.

“There is a lot being done to ensure not just attracting foreign direct investment here, but also people’s residency continues to lengthen. I think those initiatives by the government really underpin the confidence in the real estate sector.”

Dubai's property market, which softened due to a three-year oil price slump that began in 2014, oversupply concerns and the pandemic, has rebounded on rising sales in the secondary villa market and luxury properties.

Dubai recorded 37,537 sales transactions worth Dh88.12bn in the eight months of this year, up 22.61 per cent compared to the whole of last year, according to the listings portal Property Finder.

The emirate registered 35,401 sales transactions worth Dh71.87bn in 2020. Last month, Dubai recorded 5,780 sales deals worth Dh14.97bn, making it the best August in total sales since 2009.

Economic support measures and government initiatives – such as residency permits for retirees and remote workers and the expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme – have helped improve sentiment.

The UAE government also overhauled its company ownership law last year and removed the requirement for onshore companies to have an Emirati shareholder to attract foreign capital into the country.

Buyers of DHRE's projects include UAE residents as well as investors from Russia, the Indian sub-continent, Europe and other parts of the world.

Mr Davies expects demand in the property sector to continue growing throughout the year and well into 2022 as the borders reopen and amid the UAE government's move to reveal new initiatives to boost the economy and support growth.

DHRE expects to sell 3,000 units next year across its portfolio, Mr Davies said. He, however, did not disclose the total value of sales recorded by the company in the first half of the year.

Earlier this month, the UAE introduced two new visa categories, one for freelancers and another for entrepreneurs and skilled workers, to attract and retain professionals in the country as part of the ‘Projects of the 50’ plan.

The Emirates is also seeking inward foreign investment worth Dh550 billion ($149.76bn) over the next nine years and aims to be among the 10 biggest global investment destinations by 2030, Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq said last week.

“There’s been great support from government ... from DLD [Dubai Land Department] in making sure that the customers are protected, the developers are protected ... that everyone delivers on their promises. All of these are really helping the market to mature and maintain its current strength.”

DHRE has a number of master developments under construction, including Port de la Mer, City Walk Central Park, Mudon, Villanova and Madinat Jumeirah Living.

“When we talk about waterfront or beachfront properties, we have Port de la Mer which is under construction, and the first residents and the first owners would be welcomed in the fourth quarter of this year,” Mr Davies said.

Work on another waterfront property, La Vie at Jumeirah Beach Residence, is on schedule, he said.

Madinat Jumeirah Living welcomed its first home-owners in the last few months and the company is planning to hand over more buildings at the site early next year, said Mr Davies.

The company’s other projects include Central Park at City Walk and Villanova near Dubailand.

“Our focus is to complete the master communities that we started and ensure that they truly deliver on our promises around being family friendly … which is a real priority for us,” he said.