Emaar waives fees to spur property sales

Investors to benefit from access to mortgages of up to Dh2.5m for completed property in the Burj Dubai development.

Burj Views tower in Downtown Burj Dubai in Dubai. Prices in parts of Downtown Burj Dubai have slid in the past the 12 months after surging 88 per cent in one year up to last September.

Emaar hopes its offer to waive maintenance fees for a year will help it to sell empty new homes on the site of the world's tallest tower. Buyers of apartments in the Downtown Burj Dubai development will not be charged maintenance fees for the first year of ownership as the company tries to revive sales in the community, where prices have fallen by about 30 per cent since the peak of the market last year.

Investors will also benefit from access to mortgages of up to Dh2.5 million (US$681,000) for completed property across areas of the development including The Old Town, The Old Town Island, The Residences, Burj Views and South Ridge, as part of Emaar's Ramadan package. "These offers are part of our concerted efforts to support our customers and assure flexible and attractive options when making a purchase decision," said Ahmad al Matrooshi, the UAE managing director of Emaar Properties.

Prices in parts of Downtown Burj Dubai have slid in the past the 12 months after surging 88 per cent in one year up to September last year. According to a sales representative at Emaar, who asked not to be named, the price of a two-bedroom apartment in Old Town is between Dh2.2m and Dh2.8m, compared with between Dh3.8m and Dh4m a year ago. Meanwhile, two-bedroom homes in Burj Views are valued at Dh2.1m, while those in South Ridge are being sold for about Dh2.8m. A one-bedroom flat in The Old Town Island is selling for about Dh2.1m.

Maintenance fees can range between Dh15 and Dh20 per square foot at the development, said an agent at Black Stone Properties in Dubai, who asked not to be named. Waiving the fees, which pay for services such as security, rubbish removal and lift maintenance, may not affect sales, according to Iseeb Rehman, the managing director at Sherwoods property consultants. "Any incentive helps but maintenance fees have never been the central point for people looking for a quality property," Mr Rehman said. "The underlying price needs to be looked at, which is more important than incentives."

Other agents have said investors may now take advantage of the lower prices to buy property at the high-profile development before Burj Dubai, the tallest tower in the world, is completed at the end of the year. Emaar is also pushing incentives such as its rent-to-own scheme, which gives customer the opportunity to rent a home for one year and apply their rent to its purchase. "Downtown is probably the busiest district at the moment and has been for the last two months," said Gregory Antioch, a senior sales negotiator with Smith and Ken Real Estate.

"It was starting to slack a little but a lot more people are interested in the development now that Dubai Mall is open and Dubai Fountain is working. Prices will probably creep up a bit when the Burj opens." As community developments have been completed in Dubai, service charges have sometimes become a bone of contention for investors. In April, Salwan Property Management, which manages Jumeirah Beach Residences, reduced its service fees to Dh15.32 per sq ft after residents complained about a sharp rise to Dh21.75 per sq ft from Dh9.5 per sq ft.

Nakheel said in June it would cut fees at Discovery Gardens by Dh5 per sq ft after complaints from residents. [e-mail]