Queue in line online for launch of Emaar villas in Dubai

After buyers queued in 40°C summer heat to get their hands on its previous release, Emaar is inviting purchasers of more than 250 properties at Arabian Ranches to register online.

Emaar is selling 253 villas at an extension of its Arabian Ranches scheme and purchasers can register to buy only online. Pawan Singh / The National

Emaar plans to test improving Dubai property sentiment for a second time with plans to build more than 250 villas at Arabian Ranches.

After crowds queued in 40°C summer heat to get their hands on its previous release, Emaar opted for a slightly more high-tech method for dealing with the anticipated surge in demand associated with its latest property launch.

The developer behind the world's tallest tower is selling 253 villas at an extension of its Arabian Ranches scheme off the Emirates Road. But purchasers can register to buy only online.

Potential buyers interested in Emaar's 3,100 to 3,750 square feet villas can register online via the company's website from today to attend a sales launch on Saturday.

The development of Moroccan-style three and four-bedroom villas dubbed Casa - inspired by the Moroccan city of Casablanca - will be located next to Emaar's existing Arabian Ranches scheme but diagonally opposite the polo club.

The new scheme is understood to be located on a plot of land bought from rival property developer Dubai Properties Group (DPG) in July. It is located in what was earmarked to be part of DPG's stalled Dubailand development.

This week, Dubai's largest contractor Arabtec announced it had been appointed by Emaar to build 33 villas and 62 townhouses at Arabian Ranches.

The new Casa community that local agents say is set to be completed by the end of 2014 is also set to also include schools, a health club, and cafes and restaurants. Homes will not have their own swimming pools but with plot sizes of about 5,000 sq ft, agents say they will be large enough for residents to install them.

"The further enhancement of Arabian Ranches reflects our growth strategy to develop residential projects that add value to our stakeholders. It will lend further impetus to Dubai's real estate sector," said Ahmad Al Matrooshi, the Emaar managing director.

"This has been a historic year for Emaar, as we reiterate our credentials in developing world-class real estate assets in Dubai, our home-market." The new sales launch follows that of The Address The Blvd, a scheme of 542 serviced apartments in Downtown that sold out within days, prompting scenes of long queues outside the company's sales building.

"We anticipate that there will be a lot of interest in this scheme," said Mario Volpi, the head of sales and leasing at Cluttons Dubai. "Now we'll just have to see whether the website crashes with all this demand."

On Monday, Emaar announced in its detailed accounts to the Dubai bourse that revenue from apartment sales more than tripled in the third quarter of this year, to Dh567 million (US$154.4m) from Dh183m last year. However, income from commercial properties plummeted at the same time from Dh798.4m to just Dh109m leading the company to announce a 37 per cent profits dip compared with the previous quarter and a 5 per cent fall year on year.