ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION NEWS BRIEF 04 SUN DAY 25 January 2015 RESEARCH DEPARTMENT DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | QATAR | JORDAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR 29 YEARS © Asteco Property Management, 2014 asteco.com | astecoreports.com ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION REAL ESTATE NEWS UAE UAE RESIDENTS: 6TH RICHEST IN WORLD, BUT WHO'LL FUND RETIREMENT? DUBAI NAKHEEL WINS COURT VERDICT ON WATERFRONT PAYMENTS LOW-INCOME EMIRATI FAMILIES TO BE PROVIDED WITH NEW HOMES DUBAI’S DEVELOPERS PUSH ON WITH NEW LAUNCHES CONSORTIUM WINS CONTRACT FOR EXPO 2020 PROJECT DUBAI REAL ESTATE MARKET STABILISING NEW LIST OF CANCELLED DUBAI PROPERTY PROJECTS; WHERE REFUNDS EXPECTED UP FORAYS INTO DUBAI'S MID-RANGE HOTEL CATEGORY DP LAUNCHES MORE UNITS IN THE VILLA PROJECT MOST DUBAI TENANTS ESCAPE CONTRACT TERMINATION... HOW? WHAT AILS ROADS IN JUMEIRAH VILLAGE CIRCLE? RENTS TO FALL IN DUBAI? 25K NEW UNITS LIKELY DUBAI’S RENTAL DECLINES ARE SELECTIVE DUBAI DEVELOPER TARGETS DH9K-DH15K EARNERS DUBAI’S REALTY CAN NAVIGATE PAST OIL PRICE SLIDE DUBAI BUILDER ARABTEC WINS DH345M ADNOC HOUSING CONTRACT NAKHEEL TO BUILD 4,000 NEW RESIDENCES IN JEBEL ALI NAKHEEL PROFIT SOARS DESPITE FEWER HOME COMPLETIONS FOR DUBAI DEVELOPER STRONG RESPONSE FOR MEYDAN FREEHOLD VILLAS IN DUBAI ABU DHABI ABU DHABI TO BUILD LOW-COST HOUSING FOR UAE RESIDENTS DH8M SAADIYAT ISLAND VILLA AIMED AT THE LESS WEALTHY ABU DHABI PROPERTY DEVELOPER ALDAR TO SETTLE DH1BN OF DEBT HOME PRICES FLATLINE IN ABU DHABI AND DUBAI WITH SLOWDOWN EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | QATAR | JORDAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR 29 YEARS © Asteco Property Management, 2014 asteco.com | astecoreports.com Page 2 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION NAKHEEL WINS COURT VERDICT ON WATERFRONT PAYMENTS WEDNESDAY 21 JANUARY 2015 The Dubai Courts have ruled in favour of Nakheel on the developer’s payment claims against investors who had acquired plots in Dubai Waterfront. The investors — Safi Qurashi and his business associates — will have to pay the master-developer Dh11 million as per the judgement, Nakheel said in a statement issued on Thursday. “Nakheel has obtained an attachment to recover the judgement debt,” according to the verdict by the Courts. Nakheel declined to offer further details on the case, which a spokesperson said was a “recent development”. Safi Qurashi, CEO of Q Group, issued a comment saying he was surprised by Nakheel’s statement, which he called “very misleading.” “The facts are that in December 2013 the Dubai Courts ordered that I should receive Dh31.3m from a complainant, after clearing me of any criminal charges in a case of security cheques, which the courts ruled should never have been banked,” the statement said. Qurashi’s statement also said the judgement referred to in the Nakheel statement relates to an attachment order by the court for some of the money still owed to his company. The project in question was launched — and extensive spadework done — during the boom period in the middle part of the last decade. Investors were quick to pile into the project as the first clusters were released to sub-developers and property buyers. But once the downturn hit, the project was among the many that was placed on hold. But, in the recent past, there have been movements related to the project through specific project launches — the Badrah and Veneto — by Nakheel , valuation works, collection of payments related to plots bought by developers/investors, etc. “When the Waterfront was launched, it was the last piece of undeveloped seafront and as such was considered prime property,” said Sameer Lakahni, Managing Director at Global Capital Partners. “The crash in 2008 and subsequent litigation caused values to recede. Buying activity “But Nakheel has been methodically overcoming these issues to ensure the area retains its value as a prime residential district of the future.” According to Ranjeet Chavan, Director at SPF Realty, “Buying activity is yet to take off in a big way on the Waterfront … though it’s still early days in its relaunch phase. All of the activity continues to be led by Nakheel. “But there aren’t any more of the credit notes related to the Waterfront — issued by Nakheel at the time of the downturn — floating about in the market.” The credit notes were issued by the developer to those investors in delayed projects and which could be used by them to take up positions in ongoing or completed ones. Meanwhile, Nakheel on Wednesday again confirmed that it had no plans to launch redevelopment works for the Palm Jebel Ali, which was conceived to be the second instalment of the Palm trilogy. “That’s definitely not on the agenda right now,” said Ali Rashid Lootah, Chairman of DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | QATAR | JORDAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR 29 YEARS © Asteco Property Management, 2013 asteco.com | astecoreports.com Page 3 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION Nakheel. The third project in the original series has taken on a completely different form and function through “Deira Islands”. Source: Gulf News Back to Index DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | QATAR | JORDAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR 29 YEARS © Asteco Property Management, 2014 asteco.com | astecoreports.com Page 4 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION LOW -INCOME EMIRATI FAMILIES TO BE PROVIDED WITH NEW HOMES THURSDAY 22 JANUARY 2015 Hundreds of low-income Emirati families caught up in debt or unable to sustain their needs will be given new accommodation and have their needs addressed following an initiative launched yesterday which relies heavily on donations. Two charity organizations, Dar Al Ber and Bait Al Khair, have collaborated under a new social and charitable initiative called ‘Showing Gratitude’ to help 200 underprivileged Emirati families registered in both associations. Suitable homes will be found for them and all their expenses covered until they receive their final accommodation from the government. The two associations have already identified the 200 families and have selected them based on how urgent their situation is and their living conditions after a committee researched and evaluated certain Emirati families living without a breadwinner. Abdullah Ali Bin Zayed, Chief Executive Officer of Dar Al Ber Society said there was an urgent need to find long-term solutions to such problems in society, and that the larger the cooperation between associations and the larger the donations the faster the results. “Based on a joint committee we were able to identify Emirati widows, divorcees, the elderly and orphans who desperately need help. Five families were given priority under this initiative and we’ve already started following up with them and addressing all their needs,” said Bin Zayed. He also said that the joint committee will be following up with the project’s progress and do all the legal and financial supervision. As part of the initiative, a joint bank account has been opened in Dubai Islamic Bank for people who want to donate for the cause and the two associations have already collected Dh1 million each. Abdeen Taher Al Awadhi, General Manager at Beit Al Khair Society, said that they want to help as many families as possible, and that it all depends on the amount of donations coming in. “There are some serious cases we found with families who have been living in rented houses and are unable to pay for their homes any more. We need to cover all the costs they are unable to pay and reunite them with their families in the city they belong to,” he said. Saeed Mubarak Al Mazroui, Deputy General Manager of Beit Al Khair, said that the welfare of Emirati remains the government’s top priority and “the government always provides enough help to all members of the society”. “Together, through combined efforts, we can end this problem. Helping these families with a small amount of money will not solve the problem because after a couple of months they will not have money for water, electricity and schooling. These issues will be addressed through this project until they get their final homes,” he said. He also said that charity associations act as mediators between different sectors and underprivileged families to speed up the process of finding a solution to their problems. DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | QATAR | JORDAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR 29 YEARS © Asteco Property Management, 2014 asteco.com | astecoreports.com Page 5 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION The process of getting a house from the government depends on signing up in a housing programme, but usually the waiting list takes two to three years which forces some families to rent a home until their home is ready. Source: Gulf News Back to Index DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | QATAR | JORDAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR 29 YEARS © Asteco Property Management, 2014 asteco.com | astecoreports.com Page 6 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION DUBAI’S DEVELOPERS PUSH ON WITH NEW LAUNCHES WEDNESDAY 21 JANUARY 2015 Reef Real Estate, on Tuesday, launched the 38-storey Reef Residence, which it says is the first tower project at Jumeirah Village Circle. The plot is on the “periphery” of the community and adjacent to Els Golf Course at Dubai Sports City. “All approvals from Dubai Land Department/Rera (Real Estate Regulatory Agency) have been obtained to make off-plan sales and the escrow account is also established,” said Ahmad Al Mansouri, CEO. “We are confident since the pricing of the units offers value for quality and location.” In the first phase, units will sell for Dh770 a square foot, and thereafter the “average blended price” would be Dh885 a square foot.