news brief 29 - asteco.com · dubai,” george asserts, adding that the real estate prices here may...

DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | JORDAN © Asteco Property Management, 2015 asteco.com | astecoreports.com

IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR 30 YEARS

ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING

VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION

RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

NEWS BRIEF 29 SUNDAY 26 July 2015





REAL ESTATE NEWS DUBAI

REVERSE RELOCATION TO DUBAI MAKING SHARJAH MORE AFFORDABLE FOR TENANTS

STUDIOS, 1-BED APARTMENTS IN WHICH DUBAI AREAS OFFER BETTER YIELDS?

FROM MECHANIC TO OWNER OF 22 BURJ KHALIFA UNITS IN DUBAI WHICH OF DUBAI'S HIGH-END AREAS MORE AFFORDABLE TO RENT IN Q2?

DOWNTOWN DUBAI TOPS CHART FOR BIGGEST OFFICE DEALS IN Q2 SIX DEALS CROSS DH195 MILLION ON DUBAI'S PALM JUMEIRAH

WHICH METRO STATION BUSIEST: CITY CENTRE OR BURJ KHALIFA – DUBAI MALL?

ENSHAA BEGINS HANDOVER OF 169 PALAZZO VERSACE APARTMENTS IN DUBAI

LULU TO OPEN FIVE-STAR HOTEL IN DUBAI’S BUSINESS BAY WASL PLANS TO OPEN 14 HOTELS IN DUBAI BY 2020

WASL TO BEGIN WORK ON FOUR MAJOR PROJECTS WORTH DH40BN RAMADAN SLOWDOWN FOR DUBAI HOTELS AS OCCUPANCY AND ROOM RATES DECLINE

ABU DHABI

ARCAPITA BUYS 285 LUXURY APARTMENTS AT ABU DHABI’S SAADIYAT BEACH RESIDENCES COMPLEX

NEW ALDAR PROPERTIES ACCOUNTING METHOD ALLOWS OFF-PLAN SALES TO APPEAR EARLIER IN RESULTS

OFF-PLAN DEVELOPERS IN THE UAE LAUNCH MORE ‘BUY NOW, PAY LATER’ OFFERS

NORTHERN EMIRATES

MAJOR SHARJAH HIGHWAY CLOSED UNTIL END OF YEAR; DUBAI-BOUND TRAFFIC DIVERTED

R HOTELS TO INVEST DH150M IN AJMAN AS EMIRATE AIMS TO BOOST TOURISM

SHARJAH RENTS FALL AS RESIDENTS EYE RETURN TO DUBAI

OTHERS

EMAAR IN TALKS OVER SEPARATION FROM INDIAN PARTNER, SAYS REPORT

DUBAI’S DAMAC PLANS MORE LONDON PROJECTS TO FOLLOW LAUNCH OF VERSACE-THEMED DEVELOPMENT





REVERSE RELOCATION TO DUBAI

MAKING SHARJAH MORE AFFORDABLE

FOR TENANTS

THURSDAY 23 JULY 2015

Rents in Sharjah, Ajman and other Northern Emirates are declining following the decline in Dubai

rentals, which is prompting many tenants to move back to Dubai.

According to the latest Asteco Northern Emirates Q2 2015 real estate report, rents in Sharjah and Ajman

declined by 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter during the April-June quarter.

This decline, the report states, is prompted by a rise in vacancy levels as new supply was handed over

and the reverse relocation trend to Dubai, which has started to gain momentum.

The report noted that enquiry levels were also lower compared with the previous quarter, supporting the

theory that more people are keen to move back to Dubai now that rents have been cooling in the UAE’s

second largest emirate.

However, rental levels in the Northern Emirates remain much more affordable than Dubai. The report

maintains that tenants can currently rent a two-bedroom apartment on the Sharjah Corniche between

Dh48,000 and Dh80,000 per annum, or between Dh32,000 and Dh40,000 pa in Ajman.

Compare that with the average rents for one-bed units in the ‘affordable’ Dubai developments –

Dh52,000 pa in International City and Dh70,000 pa in Discovery Gardens.

Asteco reports that although residential rental rates declined in Q2 2015, they were still higher in

comparison with the previous year in Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain.

“Another reason for the decline in Ajman has been the handover of new supply in recent months. We've

seen a large amount of new stock entering the market, at a time when newcomers to the city were

fewer. This resulted in an internal movement, away from older buildings to newer properties, particularly

one and two-bed units, as tenants upgrade,” said John Stevens, Managing Director, Asteco.

Rental rates in high-end Fujairah buildings put a two-bedroom unit at an annual figure of Dh55,000-

Dh62,000; in newer Ras Al Khaimah developments at Dh50,000-Dh65,000 pa; with Umm Al Quwain the

most affordable at Dh28,000-Dh30,000 pa, albeit with lesser quality stock.

Source: Emirates 24/7

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STUDIOS, 1-BED APARTMENTS IN

WHICH DUBAI AREAS OFFER BETTER

YIELDS?

MONDAY 20 JULY 2015

Apartment sales in Dubai during the second quarter of 2015 were marked by a shift towards more

affordable properties, says a new report by Asteco.

Locations such as IMPZ, Dubai Silicon Oasis, International City, and the recently handed over Queue

Point and Sky Courts developments in Dubailand witnessed sustained demand in Q2 as yields for studio

and one-bedroom apartments in particular, remained attractive, the report notes.

Affordability was also a priority for villa investors with Jumeirah Village recording a high number of

transactions for some of the townhouse properties by Nakheel and in Indigo Ville, priced at Dh700,000

up to Dh1.2 million.

In comparison, larger properties, including five and six-bedroom villas, saw minimal transactions

completing in communities such as The Villa or Dubai Sports City, despite strong rental demand, the

report said.

“However, despite strong transaction levels, the increasingly competitive market environment, with a lot

of new supply, means that the two per cent quarter-on-quarter decline is not going to be a temporary

blip, with more pressure on owners to review their selling price, still to come,” John Stevens, Managing

Director, Asteco.

Off-plan properties at negative premiums

Asteco also noted an emerging trend by a limited number of purchasers, who were advertising off-plan

properties, not yet in the construction phase, at negative premiums, in an attempt to relinquish financial

obligations.

This quarter, it was the office sector that saw the most gains, with an average two per cent growth in

rental rates, dependent on area, although average sales prices declined by one per cent.

Leasing-wise, DIFC witnessed an 11 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth with existing stock almost fully

occupied and companies eyeing expansion forced to seek space in nearby buildings, which has benefited

development such as Central Park Towers, which attained rates of Dh180 and Dh250 per square foot for

shell and core and fitted space respectively.

Index Tower’s leasing rates also increased up to Dh350 per square foot, as full floors were subdivided

to offer small, fitted space to companies looking to set up at the DIFC free zone.

However, previous star performer Business Bay saw a 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter decline in leasing

prices, affected by the handover of a substantial amount of office space, with Asteco predicting more

pain to follow with a further 1.3 million square feet of new supply to be delivered in the next few years.

“The office sales market has essentially moved away from investment buyers to one where end-users

are the most common buyers for completed buildings.





“In the future we expect sales prices to come under pressure in areas where significant supply is due to

be handed over,” said Stevens.


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FROM MECHANIC TO OWNER OF 22

BURJ KHALIFA UNITS IN DUBAI

MONDAY 20 JULY 2015

Friends teased him about his height. He replied by purchasing 23 flats in the tallest tower in the world,

Burj Khalifa.

“How can a short man like you even see the Burj Khalifa fully, let alone enter the world’s tallest tower?

Can you enter this building?” a friend of George joked.

Since then George decided to buy a flat in the world’s tallest tower and within a short period, he is the

owner of 22 apartments, on different floors of Burj Khalifa.

He recollects the apartment numbers for us: “10406, 90004, 8903 … I have recently completed a deal to

purchase my 22nd flat in Burj Khalifa.

“Now I own 22 flats in the tower and I will purchase more if I think the deal is good. My friend teased

me once saying I cannot enter this prestigious building but I took it as a challenge. For me nothing is

impossible,” George told 'Emirates24|7'.

Hailing from a business family in Trichur, George came to Sharjah four decades ago and started working

as an automobile mechanic.

“A man’s mind is where his wealth is. My mind is in my family and the property and business that

belongs to me,” he muses.

“I began living in the Burj Khalifa as a tenant. Then I purchased my first flat investing some money I

made from doing a project for Dubai Metro. Then I bought the second, third, fourth, fifth …and now

22nd apartment.

“Because I have businesses in Dubai generating profit, I have found Burj Khalifa an ideal investment

option,” he said, adding that he does not rent out his apartments because the first tenant left some

scratches on the wall.

“Every year I spend about Dh3 million to maintain my properties in Burj Khalifa. I have full faith in the

visionary leadership of UAE and the long-term vision behind the creation of this world class icon in

Dubai,” George asserts, adding that the real estate prices here may go up further, and as a

businessman, he is never scared of slowdown or recession.

“Every day I take at least 10 new visitors to Burj Khalifa because many people want to see the

apartments. When I brought 10 Indian labourers to stay in the world’s tallest tower for a day, they felt

like they reached heaven.

“The labourers were living in a camp one day and then staying in the such a tower was a great

experience,” George explains.

Flying high

George is quite familiar to Keralites, as he is the single largest shareholder in CIAL, the company that

owns the Kochi International Airport.

“I could not attend my father’s funeral because there was no direct flight from Dubai to Kochi to reach

my home- town Thrissur,” he says.





“For millions of overseas Keralites an airport was needed. When the Kochi International Airport Project

was launched initially, there was no keen interest from investors.

“The company faced a severe financial strain and the staff were facing lack of funds.

“I went to the company office and offered to invest in the project. Now CIAL is a very successful

company running the international airport in Kerala,” ‘Georgetta’, as he is proudly called by his friends

and family, says.

“I am trying to rebuild the Georgettans Raagam Theatre in Kerala. Whatever money I earn in the UAE

can be profitably invested in such assets,” George adds.

About 1,000 people work in companies run by George.

Geo Electricals Trading and Contracting Co LLC started in 1984 and today, there are 16 companies

under the Geo Group in the UAE employing nearly 1,000 people.

George today has also properties in Meydan and Ras Al Khaimah, and factories in Sharjah and Ajman.


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WHICH OF DUBAI'S HIGH-END AREAS

MORE AFFORDABLE TO RENT IN Q2?

WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2015

Rents in some of Dubai’s high-end areas declined during the second quarter even as certain mid-market

locations saw rentals increase while rental levels remained unchanged in old Dubai areas, according to

two research reports published on Tuesday.

According to real estate consultancy Asteco’s Q2 2015 report, the highest quarter-on-quarter apartment

rental declines were recorded on Sheikh Zayed Road (seven per cent), Palm Jumeirah (six per cent) and

Jumeirah Beach Residences (seven per cent).

Conversely, IMPZ, Dubai Sports City and Dubai Silicon Oasis recorded higher rentals compared with

2014, of between 6 and 13 per cent, due to the completion of community infrastructure and increased

occupancy levels making them popular mid-market residential areas.

Apartment rents across the city declined by an average of twi per cent in 2015 and five per cent for

villas, with marked declines at the higher priced end of the market, Asteco said.

CBRE, another real estate consultancy, said Dubai’s rental market recorded marginal deflation during

Q2, posting its first quarterly drop since 2011.

Rentals within the villa market saw the steeper decline, falling by an average of 3 per cent as compared

to a 2 per cent dip in apartment rentals.

“Higher-end areas, including Dubai Marina, JBR, Palm Jumeirah, Greens and JLT, have actually suffered

some of the heaviest declines with rental rates falling between one and four per cent,” CBRE said,

adding that rates in many secondary locations remained unchanged, including Al Nahda, Hor Al Anz and

Discovery Gardens, reflecting the continued flight to affordability.

“As the pace of rental declines picks up pace, we would expect to see a gradual reversal of this trend as

occupiers start to focus on quality, although this is unlikely to emerge until 2016,” CBRE analyst said in

the note.

John Stevens, Managing Director, Asteco, said: “The softening in Dubai’s residential rental market

appeared earlier than we originally anticipated, offering tenants in the emirate an opportunity to recoup

somewhat after several tough years of high rents. The decrease was felt throughout the market and

areas with a significant amount of completed new supply were the most affected. Additionally, some

buyers of nearly completed buildings were keen to sell at negative premiums due to the imminent

completion of the building, which required final payment.”

In the villa segment, the handover of projects like Casa Villas at Arabian Ranches brought rental rates

for the area down by seven per cent quarter-on-quarter, and 15 per cent year-on-year.

“We even saw a six per cent decline for Palm Jumeirah, with the handover of the lower specification

Palma Residences’ townhouses impacting rental rates due to their lower price band. So we are seeing a

similar tenant-friendly trend in the broader villa market, with more flexible instalment plans for

example, and this is set to continue as areas like Dubailand continue to deliver new supply,” noted

Stevens.






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DOWNTOWN DUBAI TOPS CHART FOR

BIGGEST OFFICE DEALS IN Q2


Dubai’s commercial space continued to register big ticket deals in the second quarter of 2015, with

Downtown Dubai recording six of the top 10 office deals.

The biggest transaction registered with Dubai Land Department (DLD) was worth Dh19.19 million in

Control Tower in Business Park Motor City, reveals data shared exclusively by Reidin.com with Emirates

24|7.

The second biggest was in the same tower worth Dh17.62 million, followed by Vision Tower in Business

Bay with a transaction value of Dh17 million.

A transaction registered for Dh12.60 in Boulevard Plaza Tower 1 in Downtown Dubai took the fourth

place, followed by two transactions of Dh11.25 million each in Boulevard Plaza Tower 1 in Downtown

Dubai.

Vision Tower in Business Bay, was again in seventh position with a transaction valued at Dh10.54

million.

Two transactions of Dh10.13 million and Dh9.92 million in Boulevard Plaza Tower 1 in Downtown Dubai

took eighth and ninth positions, with the final spot going to Boulevard Plaza Tower 2 deal, which was

closed at Dh9.32 million.

In its second quarter 2015 report, Land Sterling, a UAE-based chartered surveyor and property

consultancy firm, said office sales market remained robust due to steady demand, despite a drop of 30

per cent in transaction volume during the quarter.

Total value of office sales transactions registered with DLD stood at about Dh695 million in the second

quarter 2015 with nearly 80 per cent generated by sales in Business Bay and Jumeirah Lakes Towers, it

added.


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SIX DEALS CROSS DH195 MILLION ON

DUBAI'S PALM JUMEIRAH


A Dh60-million deal in the plush Emirates Hills, a master development by Emaar Properties, has topped

the list of the top 10 villa deals for the second quarter 2015 in Dubai, reveals data shared exclusively by

Reidin.com with Emirates 24|7.

The deal, closed in May 2015, saw the buyer paying Dh2,325 per square foot (psf) for the 19,784

square feet spacious house, according to the data.

This website reported in April 2015 that the biggest deal of the first quarter 2015 was also worth Dh60

million in the same master development.

The second costliest deal during the period between April and June 2015 was again in Emirates Hills,

with the transaction closing at Dh45 million.

Two villas in Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Hills took third place.

The Dh42-million deals translated into the buyers paying Dh5,198 psf for the former and Dh1,716 psf

for the latter.

Fifth to eighth places on the list were occupied by transactions on the Palm, which were valued at Dh40

million, Dh34 million, Dh33 million and Dh26.275 million, respectively.

In the quarter, Palm registered six of the biggest deals, with total spend at Dh195.48 million.

The Lakes took ninth place with a Dh26.12 million deal followed by a Dh20.20 million villa sale on the

Palm taking the final slot.


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MAJOR SHARJAH HIGHWAY CLOSED

UNTIL END OF YEAR; DUBAI-BOUND

TRAFFIC DIVERTED

SUNDAY 26 JULY 2015

A part of King Faisal Street has been closed for traffic since yesterday (Saturday), and shall remain

closed for the rest of the year as part of a maintenance work project, the Sharjah Roads and Traffic

Authority (SRTA) has announced.

On Saturday, a 2km-stretch of King Faisal Street connecting King Faisal Bridge and Union Square in the

areas Abu Shagara and Al Qasmiyeh were closed in one direction, commencing the first phase of the

project.

A 2km-stretch of King Faisal Street connecting King Faisal Bridge and Union Square in the areas Abu

Shagara and Al Qasmiyeh were closed in one direction. (File)

Traffic heading towards Dubai along the iconic Al Majaz Lake has been diverted whereas commuters

heading into Sharjah will be impacted in a few months.

When the maintenance work in this direction has been completed, the Dubai-bound road will be re-

opened and the Ajman-bound part of King Faisal will be closed for maintenance, explained an SRTA

official.





During the first phase of the project, motorists in the direction of Dubai will be diverted to the three-lane

service road towards King Faisal Bridge, passing along Al Majaz community.

The road has a total of six lanes in each direction, which will be refurbished in a project costing

Dh11,004,000. Damaged parts of the road will be restored and the sidewalk in each direction will be

restored. New road signage will also be placed along the road.

This same weekend, maintenance work commenced on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road, another main

road in Sharjah, leading to a partial closure between Thursday night and Monday .

Last year, the Sharjah authority carried out similar maintenance work on Corniche Street, which forms

an extension of King Faisal Street.

Al Majaz area is known for its vicinity to the sea leg shaping Al Majaz lake and Al Majaz Waterfront,

which is increasingly becoming a popular leisure destination.


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WHICH METRO STATION BUSIEST:

CITY CENTRE OR BURJ KHALIFA –

DUBAI MALL?

SUNDAY 26 JULY 2015

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has revealed a growth in the

number of riders using mass transit means (Metro, public buses, marine transit means and taxis) in

Dubai during the first half of this year.

Al Tayer stated that the total public transport during this period hit 271.302 million users compared with

262.569 million users during the same period of 2014.

Metro, Tram

The number of Metro riders on both the Red and Green Lines over the last six months topped

88,252,034 riders; compared with 81,403,876 riders during the same period last year.

The number of riders using the Red Line during the first half of this year clocked 55,783,626 riders, up

from the figure recorded during the same period last year which was 51,799,232 riders.

Equally the ridership of the Green Line jumped from 29,604,644 riders in the first half of 2014 to

32,468,408 riders in the first half of this year.

Deira City Center, Al Rigga, Union, Burjuman and Burj Khalifa-Dubai Mall stations have accounted for

the lion share in the ridership of the Red Line.

Deira City Center Station has been used by 3,640,354 riders, followed by Al Rigga Station which served

3,614,141 riders.

Next came the Union Station recording 3,557,000 riders, ahead of Burjuman Station which received

3,500,000 riders and Burj Khalifa – Dubai Mall Station which was used by 3,392,219 riders.

On the Green Line of the Dubai Metro, Al Fahidi and Baniyas Stations accounted for the largest number

of Metro riders where Al Fahidi Station was used by 3,600,000 riders, Baniyas Station was used by

3,200,600 riders, and Al Ghubaiba Station was used by 2,452,000 riders.

The Dubai Tram was used by 1,552,756 riders during the first half of this year.

Public bus

Modern buses contributed to raising public transport users. (Supplied)

The number of public bus riders during the first half of this year amounted to 66,500,269 riders and the

Dubai Bus service accounted for the largest number of riders recording 44,089,924 riders, followed by

the Metro Stations Feeder Service which lifted 13,440,291 riders, and third came the Intercity Bus

Service which was used by 5,962,217 riders. Remaining riders were served by Bus Rental Service to

public and private entities.

Marine transport





Traditional abras and marine transit modes capture the attention of Dubai commuters.(Supplied)The

marine transit modes, comprising abras, water bus, water taxi and Dubai Ferry, have lifted during the

first half of this year 7,492,529 riders where the number of Abra riders alone clocked 7,171,509 riders,

whereas the Water Bus lifted 249,911 rider, Dubai Ferry served 56,568 riders and the Water Taxi

offered services to 14,541 riders.

Taxis

Taxicabs operating in Dubai (Dubai Taxi and franchise taxi companies) have made 53,572,397 trips

during the first six months of this year lifting 107,504,794 riders. The Dubai Taxi Corporation has lifted

the biggest chunk of these riders by operating about 23,172,122 trips serving about 46,344,244 riders/

Al Tayer noted that the RTA was endeavoring to raise the share of public transport means to as much as

30 per cent by 2030, and had succeeded in raising this share from 6% in 2006 to 14 per cent in 2014,

and anticipated such rate would hit 15 per cent by the end of 2015.


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ENSHAA BEGINS HANDOVER OF 169

PALAZZO VERSACE APARTMENTS IN

DUBAI

TUESDAY 14 JULY 2015

The Dubai-based developer Enshaa has started handing over 169 apartments in the Residences at

Palazzo Versace in Dubai Creek to their buyers.

Enshaa built the serviced apartments alongside the new 217-room Palazzo Versace Hotel as part of a

US$626 million development.

The apartments range in size from one to five bedrooms and are housed in two buildings.

The developer’s shareholders include Emirates Investments Group, Majid Al Futtaim Group and Abraaj

Capital.

A deal to build the Palazzo Versace complex was first agreed between Emirates Investments Group and

the Australian developer Sunland Group in 2004.

In 2005, Emirates International Holdings, a unit of Enshaa, acquired the land to begin development in

2006 with a view to completing it by 2008.

However, there were a series of delays, and Enshaa took control of the project in 2011, aiming to

complete it by the end of 2013.

In announcing the start of the handover of the apartments, Raza Jafar, Enshaa’s chief executive,

expressed his gratitude to customers.

“I am confident that it [the project] will set new standards of luxury living in the region,” he said.

Source: The National

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ARCAPITA BUYS 285 LUXURY

APARTMENTS AT ABU DHABI’S

SAADIYAT BEACH RESIDENCES

COMPLEX


Mubadala Development has sold the first phase of its Saadiyat Beach Residences apartment complex on

Saadiyat Island to Bahrain-based alternative investment fund Arcapita.

The complex of three low-rise residential buildings containing 285 apartments is situated within a gated

community and is currently leased to Saadiyat Island’s master developer, Tourism Development &

Investment Company.

Mohammed Chowdhury, the managing director at Arcapita, declined to comment on a reported sale

price of $200 million, citing confidentiality agreements signed with Mubadala.

However, he said that the deal was an off-market transaction which had been generated as a result of

an existing relationship between the organisations.

Arcapita already owns property investments in the UAE, including a joint venture at Dubai Sports City

that has developed about 1,000 villas at Victory Heights overlooking the Ernie Els golf course, but this is

its first property investment in Abu Dhabi.

Mr Chowdhury said that Saadiyat Beach Residences appealed for a number of factors.

“It’s at the high end of the market in Abu Dhabi, and there is a limited supply at Saadiyat.

“It’s been master-planned, and it’s hard for people to build similar properties in that area. So rents

should hold up.”

He also said that Abu Dhabi offered more secure long-term rental prospects than Dubai, where the

market is more volatile.

Saadiyat is a 27 square kilometre island that already features a number of five-star hotels and resorts, a

beach club, golf course and leisure and retail development.

The first of three museums within the island’s cultural district, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, is scheduled for

completion by the end of this year.

Since the first phase of Saadiyat Beach Residences was completed in 2013, TDIC has launched two

further phases of development.

The second phase contains 82 villas and townhouses.

The third phase, which was due to complete last month, contains 77 four- and five-bed villas.


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R HOTELS TO INVEST DH150M IN

AJMAN AS EMIRATE AIMS TO BOOST

TOURISM

SUNDAY 19 JULY 2015

The Ajman-based R Hotels plans to invest Dh150 million on a mid-markethotel as the emirate seeks to

draw 5 million tourists a year by 2021.

Construction on the 182-room property, located alongside Ramada Beach Hotel Ajman, is expected to

start this quarter.

It is set to open in the first quarter of 2017.

“The real estate sector is getting busy with the Ajman City Centre mall expanding and areas near

Hamriya Free Zone getting developed,” said Iftikhar Hamdani, the vice president for acquisition and

development at R Hotels and general manager of Ramada Ajman hotels.

“The corniche projects are coming along fast and there is confidence in the market.” In May, Majid Al

Futtaim Investments said it would invest Dh500m to expand Ajman City Centre by 51,000 square

¬metres.

Construction work is expected to start towards the end of next year and end in 2017.

“We kept around 80 per cent occupancy rate during Ramadan and we run out of rooms during the

October to May period,” said Mr Hamdani.

“There is a constant demand from the tour operators and it was clear we needed another property in

Ajman.”

Work on several property projects in Ajman slowed during the global financial crisis but has recently

picked up pace.

That includes the Ajman Marina project that was announced in 2007. The Dh100m project was

completed last year, according to the Department of Municipality and Planning.

In May, Ajman’s tourism department said it was aiming to attract 5 million tourists a year by 2021.

The total number of guests who checked into the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments last year was

850,000.

The new R Hotels property would join Ajman’s two mid-market properties, both by R Hotels, and four

luxury properties.

There are nine one and two-star hotels in the emirate.

Oberoi, an Indian hotel operator, and the Mauritius-based Lux Resorts & Hotels group are expected to

open hotels in Al Zorah in the next two years.

The area is run by the master developer Solidere International.





“[Ajman Tourism Development Department] has been actively tapping different markets like China, and

our hotels are also beefing up our nationality mix with arrivals from Turkey, Germany, Oman and

Eastern Europe,” said Sumair Tariq, the managing director of R Hotels.

“We are expecting higher room demands in the next couple of years, as confirmed by the opening and

announcements of new hotels in Ajman.”

Tourists from the Middle East, excluding those from the UAE and the Arabian Gulf, form Ajman’s largest

source market, followed by Russia and the CIS states last year, according to the department.

Although traffic congestion is among the top challenges for Ajman’s tourism sector, the emirate has

signed a deal with Whitelake Consortium to develop an airport in its Al Manama enclave, 52 kilometres

east of Ajman city.

The Dh2.1 billion Ajman International Airport is expected to be completed in 2018, and it will be capable

of handling more than 2 million passengers a year.


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EMAAR IN TALKS OVER SEPARATION

FROM INDIAN PARTNER, SAYS REPORT


Emaar Properties is in talks with its Indian partner MGF Development about winding down its 10-year-

old joint venture in the country.

India’s Economic Times reported that both sides were thrashing out a deal to separate assets owned by

the joint venture, which was set up in February 2005 with an investment of about US$1.5 billion by

Emaar Properties.

The report quoted a source stating that MGF Development’s head Shravan Gupta was “no longer keen to

actively participate” in the joint venture.

Emaar Properties declined to comment on the newspaper report.

“As a matter of policy, we do not comment on market rumours or speculation,” a spokesman said. “India

is one of our key markets and we are committed to our projects in the country.”

Emaar shares in Dubai did not react to the report, closing unchanged at Dh8.10.

Emaar MGF is said to have a land bank of 3,035 hectares and 55 projects under development with a

saleable area of 6 million square metres. These have a combined value of about $5bn.

According to its most recent financial statement for the three months to March 30, Emaar MGF and its

related parties owe $722 million to Emaar Properties. About $513m of this is secured against existing

developments.

Emaar MGF has faced a number of troubles since its formation.

The company had announced plans to float in 2008 with a view to raising $1.7bn through the sale of a

10 per cent stake, but this never materialised. It was also criticised for the late delivery of a $240m

athlete’s village that was used for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

According to the Economic Times, the joint venture has racked up combined losses of $206m over the

past three years, including a loss of $60.3m in 2014.


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NEW ALDAR PROPERTIES ACCOUNTING

METHOD ALLOWS OFF-PLAN SALES TO

APPEAR EARLIER IN RESULTS


Aldar Properties says it is adopting a new accounting system that will allow it to book revenues from the

sales of off-plan developments at an earlier stage.

It has adopted IFRS 15, the newest set of reporting standards introduced by the International

Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

IFRS 15 allows developers to recognise partial revenues and profits from the sale of off-plan properties

when contractual targets are achieved.

Under the previous accounting standards, revenues and profits from a property sale can only be booked

when the transfer of substantial risks and benefits – the handover of the property, that is – to the buyer

has taken place.

Under IFRS 15, however, Aldar can stagger the revenue recognition from the sale of an off-plan unit

over a longer period of time, based on when it completes agreed milestones.

For instance, if a contract stipulates that the buyer will pay 10 per cent of the purchase price when a

building’s foundations are in place, then it can declare this portion of revenue once the work is done.

The adoption of IFRS 15 by January 2017 is compulsory, according to an Aldar spokesman. “However,

we have the opportunity to early adopt and believe we are ready to do so now,” he said.

Being able to book off-plan sales of properties during the course of their completion would “better reflect

the financial performance of the group to the underlying activities”, said the spokesman.

“The result is that revenue recognition under IFRS 15 is smoothed out over the construction period.”

Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, the head of equities research at NBAD Securities, described the move as

“positive news for ¬Aldar”.

Under the current system, “developers have lean years and fat years” depending on their position in the

property cycle, he said.

For instance, Aldar launched three projects worth US$1.36 billion last year, and under the previous

accounting regime it would have to pay for the building costs of all the projects before booking sales and

profits only when they are handed to the buyers in 2017.

“This is not a free-for-all and you have to refer back to the contract,” said Mr Manibhandu. “But

depending on what you deliver and what you agree with your counter-party, you can declare some of

the revenues before completion.”

Last week, Aldar said it had generated sales of Dh1.9bn for new projects in the first half of the year.

The developer, which has assets exceeding $10bn, said it began looking at the new accounting

standards last November, but it is not the first UAE developer to adopt them.





Emaar Properties used IFRS 15 when announcing its first-quarter results in May.

Other developers such as Deyaar Development, Union Properties and Damac Properties have yet to

adopt the new rules.


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SHARJAH RENTS FALL AS RESIDENTS

EYE RETURN TO DUBAI


The increased availability of affordable housing in Dubai is reversing a recent trend of people moving to

Sharjah and Ajman for cheaper rents.

According to Asteco’s second-quarter report for the Northern Emirates, rents in Sharjah and Ajman fell 3

per cent from the previous quarter as vacancy levels rose because of new housing supply and more

people found affordable rents in Dubai.

Annual rents for a two-bedroom flat on Sharjah’s Corniche range between Dh48,000 and Dh80,000,

while a similar property in Ajman would lease for between Dh32,000 and Dh40,000.

In Ajman, more new properties have been leased to tenants, which has led to people relocating within

the emirate, according to John Stevens, Asteco’s managing director.

“We’ve seen a large amount of new stock entering the market, at a time when newcomers to the city

were fewer. This resulted in an internal movement, away from older buildings to newer properties,

particularly one and two-bed units, as tenants upgrade,” he said.

Rental costs in Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah remained flat.

Although the market for property sales to foreigners has opened up in Sharjah in recent months, apart

from the Tilal City development, “few properties have actually been sold due to the high asking prices”,

said Mr Stevens.

“Where Sharjah is also losing out is that Dubai’s more established real estate market has more

transparent, pro-buyer legislation in place,” he said.

Tilal City is a Dh2 billion development of 1,855 land plots that have been made available to UAE resident

expatriates under 100-year leaseholds.

It is a joint venture between Sharjah Asset Management and Eskan Real Estate Development, and

features a central mall, 11 schools and kindergartens, and several leisure and healthcare centres.

The land plots are being developed in five zones.

Heysham Jaziri, the business development director of Tilal Properties, voiced confidence that the master

plan would “ensure a huge demand – both rental and sale – that delivers high returns to investors”.

Mr Stevens said that the 45,470 square metre Al Noor Island, currently being built by Sharjah

Investment and Development Authority, also had the ability to generate interest among potential

buyers.

The island, due to be handed over this year, will have a butterfly house, a literature pavilion and an egg-

shaped arts sculpture. It will be linked via boats to points along Sharjah’s waterfront.

“New project announcements and the timetabled completion of developments such as Al Noor Island are

vital elements in securing investor interest and confidence in the months to come,” said Mr Stevens.


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OFF-PLAN DEVELOPERS IN THE UAE

LAUNCH MORE ‘BUY NOW, PAY LATER’

OFFERS


Property developers are slashing deposits and offering deferred-payment plans to attract buyers amid

fierce competition for investors as demand weakens.

The decline in property prices is encouraging developers to offer payment plans that require smaller

upfront sums, with the bulk then being handed over on completion.

Aldar Properties recently announced an offer of a 30-70 payment plan on its 400-unit Meera Shams

apartment towers on Reem Island, in which customers pay a 10 per cent deposit, followed by four

instalments of 5 per cent each in the run-up to handover, when the final 70 per cent has to be paid.

Danube Properties has also marketed its latest Glitz3 project with a plan that allows buyers to pay 10

per cent upfront, a further 15 per cent within 60 days and the remainder at 1 per cent per month

throughout the construction period.

The developer G&Co has announced an even more generous payment plan at its new Dh1 billion Jade at

the Fields project in Mohammed Bin Rashid City, which was launched this week.

The company, which is owned by the former Menacom chief Joseph Ghossoub, asks investors to pay just

5 per cent of the value of a property, followed by a further 6 per cent every six months over the three-

year building programme.

A further 15 per cent is payable on completion, totalling just half of the building’s overall value. The rest

can be paid in quarterly instalments for three years after the handover.

Manish Khatri, the vice president of sales and business development at SPF Realty, which handles sales

for G&Co’s projects, said that it had taken “a different approach” with its marketing of Jade at The Fields

when compared with G&Co’s recent Dh1.5bn Millennium Estates and the Dh2.7bn Grand Views projects

– both of which are in the nearby Meydan masterplanned site and were aimed at the premium end of

the market.

Mr Khatri said this was a result of market conditions, and that the starting price of Dh2.26m was within

the most active segment of the current Dubai market – homes priced between Dh1.5m and Dh3m.

“Aside from the fact that you are getting homes at this price, in this location, the key selling point is the

payment plan. Effectively, you have six years to pay. This is unheard of, especially for a villa project,”

he said.

Payment plans have become an increasingly important driver of off-plan properties as the market has

cooled over the past year, according to Matthew Green, CBRE’s UAE head of research and consultancy.

“The key thing is it allows more end-users to get on to the ladder,” he said.

“OK, so you still need to have that 10 per cent [deposit], but it allows you a bit more time to come up

with the rest of the money you will need. Most banks will only lend 50 per cent of the value of an off-

plan property, so that excludes the majority of end-users.





“In some ways, it outweighs price per square foot. You can offer something at, say, Dh1,000 per sq ft,

but that doesn’t make a difference if you don’t have the equity to get on to the ladder.”

Jonathan Brown, the head of the property consultant Cavendish Maxwell’s Abu Dhabi office, said that

developers “are having to make their payment plans more attractive because investors are no longer

willing to accept all the risk [of development] being transferred to them”.

He added: “Investors are cautious because of uncertainty over future values, the potential negative

effects on government spending of low oil prices, and the legacy of what happened in 2009.” He pointed

out that the payment plan for Meera Shams was originally a 50-50 split – with half of the consideration

due on completion – when the project launched last month.“Aldar has a proven track record of

delivering a quality product, so if it has to offer more flexible payment plans, other developers will need

to think seriously about how they are to attract investors,” said Mr Brown.

Meanwhile, Mr Green said that not every developer was in a position to offer payment plans, as it

involved extra funding costs and administration of phased payments.


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LULU TO OPEN FIVE-STAR HOTEL IN

DUBAI’S BUSINESS BAY


The hospitality unit of Abu Dhabi’s LuLu Group plans to open a five-star hotel in Dubai’s Business Bay

area in October.

The 365-room property will be operated by Germany’s Steigenberger Hotels.

Twenty14 Holdings will own the property. This will also be its first foray into the hotels sector.

The LuLu unit has more than Dh1 billion worth of assets under management in the Middle East, the UK

and India.

The Frankfurt-headquartered Steigenberger said it would manage a second property in Dubai for

another developer, InterCityHotel Culture Village, in 2017 as well as the Steigenberger Hotel Doha

Airport Road set to open in Qatar next year.

Despite the fluctuations in the hotel sector, with falling average daily room rates across Dubai and a

decline in tourists from traditional source markets such as Russia, the emirate is still an attractive

destination in the long run, analysts say.

“Dubai continues to attract active interest for entrants into the Middle East, and that is unlikely to

change any time soon,” said John Podaras, a partner at Hotel Development Resources, a consultancy in

Dubai.

While the retail industry has been at the core of LuLu Group’s expansions into emerging markets such as

Malaysia, Indonesia and India, it has realised that retail and hospitality services complement each other,

said Adeeb Ahamed, the managing director of Twenty14 Holdings.

The LuLu Mall campus in Kochi, India, for instance, partnered with Marriott Group to open a 274-room

hotel.

“While the mall-hotel model will be replicated wherever it is feasible, Twenty14 Holdings is looking at

partnering with leading hotel groups to introduce world-class properties in key markets like the [Arabian

Gulf], Europe and South East Asia,” Mr Ahamed said. “The financial model and investment opportunities

in this sector are in line with our capabilities, and we look forward to making key acquisitions in cities

across the globe.”

The hospitality investment arm of LuLu recently acquired a share in the Sheraton Oman in Muscat, a

230-room, five-star hotel under renovation.

Steigenberger, which has a presence in Hurghada on Egypt’s Red Sea Coast, Beijing and Berlin, is also

expanding to Istanbul, Munich, Cairo and Mallorca, according to Puneet Chhatwal, the chief executive.

While much of its new openings are focused on China, next year it expects a property in Cairo’s Tahrir

Square. In 2013, it reported revenue of €502.5 million (Dh2.02bn).

In 2009, Egyptian hotel and tour operator Travco Group acquired a 99.6 per cent stake in the 1930-

founded Steigenberger Hotels for an undisclosed sum.


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WASL PLANS TO OPEN 14 HOTELS IN

DUBAI BY 2020

SATURDAY 25 JULY 2015

Wasl Hospitality and Leisure plans to open 14 hotels between now and 2020, and more than double its

room capacity to 10,000.

The company will focus on the three and four-star hospitality sector, according to Hesham Al Qassim,

the chief executive of its parent, the Wasl Asset Management Group, which manages the Dubai

government’s property assets.

Wasl Hospitality expects to have a total of 29 hotels open by 2020. “We’re trying to balance the

market,” said Mr Al Qassim. “We need to make Dubai more affordable. Expo 2020 is coming. People

coming to Dubai are still complaining about the accommodation cost.

“We need to offer them the right product. I cannot give them a five-star product at three-star rates. I

have to offer them the right three-star.”

Wasl Properties opened its first three-star hotel, a Hyatt Place at the Wasl Trio project at Al Rigga in

Deira, last year. A second Hyatt Place opened on Friday at Baniyas Square in Deira, bringing its total

number of hotels in operation to 15.

Following this, two four-star Hilton Garden Inn properties – at Al Mina near Port Rashid in Bur Dubai and

at Al Muraqabat in Deira – are due to open in October.

Wasl Hospitality has deals with the hotel groups Hyatt, Hilton and Starwood, and will continue to

develop some five-star hotel sites.

The company is building Dubai’s first Mandarin Oriental hotel in the Jumeirah district, and has another

flagship hotel lined up for Wasl Tower – the 60-storey building planned for the Toyota Building site on

Sheikh Zayed Road opposite the Downtown Dubai district.

The tower, which Mr Al Qassim described as a “vertical city” with landscaped park areas, will house

100,000 square feet of offices, including Wasl’s new headquarters, an unspecified number of apartments

and a five-star hotel.

The tower has been designed by the Dutch architect Ben van Berkel and the German sustainability

specialist Werner Sobek.

“We have signed the contract already [with the hotel operator],” said Mr Al Qassim, without revealing

the brand.

“It is a hotel which is very popular worldwide, but it is not really well spread out. They don’t do them in

many cities in the world and they only do them in famous cities.”

He said Wasl Hospitality would have six new hotels with Hilton in the coming years.

“We’re doing the largest Hampton by Hilton in the world – more than 400 rooms – facing Dubai airport

terminal two,” Mr Al Qassim said.

A four-star and a five-star hotel are also planned for its Wasl Park 1 site between Zabeel Park and the Al

Jafiliya metro station in Dubai.





Mr Al Qassim said Wasl Asset Management would continue to build its two other business arms – Wasl

Properties, which has more than 30,000 residential and retail units under lease, and an industrial zones

management arm that holds 5,200 plots of land – alongside its hotels business to balance risks.

“I come from an accounting background, I am a finance guy,” he said. “I always want to see every pot

equal the other one.”

According to the hotel consultancy STR Global, hotel occupancy last month fell 15.4 per cent to 63.2 per

cent from the same period last year, and revenue per available room dropped 22.9 per cent to Dh365,

largely because of Ramadan.

Compared with Ramadan last year, occupancy levels this year remained steady despite a 6.2 per cent

increase in the supply of rooms.


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WASL TO BEGIN WORK ON FOUR

MAJOR PROJECTS WORTH DH40BN


Wasl Asset Management will start work on four major projects with a combined value of Dh40 billion

within the next 12 months, says its chief executive, Hesham Al Qassim.

The company has completed most of the infrastructure at Nad Al Hammar Gardens – a 6 million square

feet site of 115 vacant plots facing Mohammed bin Zayed Road – and will begin work on Wasl Tower,

Wasl Park 1 and Wasl Gate in the first half of next year.

Wasl Tower will house offices, a hotel, apartments, vertical gardens and a light museum.

“This will start in early 2016. It’s a very complicated building. We could have done a normal tower like

everyone, but we wanted the vertical city,” said Mr Al Qassim.

At Wasl Park 1, which will have 12 towers on a 1.3 million sq ft site next to Al Jafiliya metro station,

work on the first phase for four residential towers will begin in the first half of next year. Two of the

towers will be 27 storeys high and two will be 21 storeys high.

At Wasl Gate near Jebel Ali, the first phase of development of a 15 million sq ft site with its own

dedicated metro station will also get under way.

The project will house a park the size of the remodelled Al Safa Park, an innovation centre aimed at

helping start-up businesses, offices, hotels, apartments, villas and retail units.

Work on the first phase, comprising infrastructure works and more than 200 villas, will start at the end

of the second quarter of next year.


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RAMADAN SLOWDOWN FOR DUBAI

HOTELS AS OCCUPANCY AND ROOM

RATES DECLINE


Occupancy and room rates at hotels in Dubai declined last month because of slower demand during

Ramadan and an increase in room supply.

The occupancy rate fell 15.4 per cent from the year-earlier period to 63 per cent, pushing the average

daily room rate down by 8.6 per cent to Dh592.69, according to STR Global. Revenue per available

room, a measure of a hotel’s profitability, fell 22.7 per cent to Dh373.53.

The supply of hotel rooms last month rose 4.6 per cent from the same period last year, while demand

fell 11.6 per cent.

Hotels in the region typically come under pressure during Ramadan and look to boost revenues from

food and beverage sales.

The business slowdown at hotels last month maintained the down trend since January, with room rates

failing to keep pace with last year’s average prices.

Nevertheless, hotel operators remain upbeat about Dubai.

The US-based Wyndham Hotel Group expects to open the 497-room Wyndham Dubai Marina in the last

quarter of this year. The world’s largest Tryp by Wyndham hotel, with 672 rooms, is expected to open in

the Tecom area late next year.

“There is always the potential for increased supply to drive down average room rates. However, this can

successfully be offset where the destination is able to generate more demand,” said Michael Zager, the

group’s regional vice president for the Middle East and Africa.

Mr Zager said: “The UAE has historically been successful in this regard due to the continuous expansion

of infrastructure and its transport network, with airlines adding new routes and connectivity. It continues

to add new demand drivers such as sports venues, shopping centres and events.”

The US operator of mid-market and high-end hotels says demand has been growing for more mid-

market hotels with the rise of new source markets such as India and China, as well as other parts of

Europe.

In March, Wyndham Hotel Group opened a 146-room Tryp property in Abu Dhabi.

“Historically, some developers were primarily focused on prestige when it came to their property

assets,” said Mr Zager.

Today, investors might be looking at optimising returns, or opportunities which offer lower construction

costs.”


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DUBAI’S DAMAC PLANS MORE LONDON

PROJECTS TO FOLLOW LAUNCH OF

VERSACE-THEMED DEVELOPMENT

MONDAY 20 JULY 2015

Damac Properties says its international arm, in which it holds a 20 per cent stake, is planning “more

than one” project in London, where the Dubai-listed firm yesterday launched its first development

outside the Middle East.

Hussain Sajwani, Damac’s founder and chairman, said he was meeting planning officials in London

following yesterday’s launch of the Aykon Nine Elms development. It will feature the interior designs of

Italian fashion brand Versace.

“We’ll be looking at more projects in London,” said Mr Sajwani. “This is our first, but it’s not going to be

the last project that we’re looking at.”

This week, Mr Sajwani will visit the office of the mayor of London, as well as local councils and planning

officials.

“The London market is extremely competitive when it comes to acquiring a site. It is not a simple

process,” said Mr Sajwani, adding that Damac was not eyeing any site in particular, although it was

always looking for one.

Damac would finance the building of the 50-storey Aykon Nine Elms tower with its shares and loans

from banks, with which talks were at “early stages of discussion”, said Mr Sajwani.

The 360-unit project, overlooking the River Thames, will include a gym, indoor swimming pool and spa.

Due for completion in 2020, the development is located in a regeneration area, adjacent to Battersea,

which will include the new US embassy in London, which is set to open late next year.

Prices at Aykon Nine Elms – which include one, two and three-bedroom units – range from £700,000

(Dh4 million) to £4m. The penthouse units have yet to be priced, while the 90 “affordable” and

intermediate-priced units were not included in yesterday’s launch.

The units are initially being sold to UK investors, but the developer expects interest from prospective

buyers from the Middle East and Asia.

However, there are doubts as to whether they are sufficiently affordable for UK buyers.

“Demand for units in large-scale developments like Akyon and generally in the new development

heartland of Nine Elms is almost 100 per cent international,” said Naomi Heaton, the chief executive of

London Central Portfolio, a London-based residential property fund manager.

“Despite any UK government mandate for new-builds to be marketed in the UK before being offered out

overseas, the price point in these developments is too high to be attractive to UK buyers.”

The launch of Aykon Nine Elms comes a week after UK government figures showed that London house

prices grew by 4.7 per cent in the year to May, below the national average of 5.7 per cent.





Niall McLoughlin, a senior vice-president at Damac Properties, said such “sustainable” growth in London

property prices indicated the market’s maturity.

“That’s the draw of London for us – a healthy, mature, regulated market,” he said.

Aykon Nine Elms is being developed by Dico UK Property Holdings, a unit of Damac International.

Damac Properties owns 20 per cent of Damac International, while Mr Sajwani holds 80 per cent.

Mr Sajwani said there were further opportunities outside the Middle East, but he had “no plans” to

undertake property ventures unconnected to Damac. Property prices in Damac’s home market of Dubai

were stabilising, he said, adding that was a healthy sign after two years of double-digit growth.

On the currency front, the strengthening of the US dollar, to which the UAE dirham is pegged, has not

had a big impact on his business, he says.

That could even prompt, for instance, more Indian investors to pump more money into Dubai’s property

market. “When they see that [the rupee] is going to go down, they take their money out quicker and put

it in dollars, or a currency-pegged property like Dubai,” he said.

Damac has worked previously with Versace on a property project in Jeddah, and a collaboration in Beirut

is due for completion by year-end.

Gian Giacomo Ferraris, Versace’s chief executive, said the partnership with Damac was helping to build

Versace’s interior design credibility in international markets.

This was important because of Versace’s plan for an international stock market listing. “We want to

enter the stock exchange in the next year,” said Mr Ferraris.

“It could be London, absolutely. Why not?”


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With 30 years of Middle East experience, Asteco’s Valuation & Advisory Services

team brings together a group of the Gulf’s

leading real estate experts.

Asteco’s network of offices in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain,

Dubai, Northern Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia not only provides a deep

understanding of the local markets but also enables us to undertake large instructions where we can quickly apply resources to meet clients requirements.

Our breadth of experience across all the main property sectors is underpinned by our sales, leasing and investment teams transacting in the market and

a wealth of research that supports our decision making.

John Allen BSc MRICS

Director, Valuation & Advisory

+971 4 403 7777

[email protected]

Julia Knibbs MSc

Manager – Research and Consultancy - UAE

+971 4 403 7789

[email protected]

VALUATION & ADVISORY

Our professional advisory services are conducted

by suitably qualified personnel all of whom have

had extensive real estate experience within the

Middle East and internationally.

Our valuations are carried out in accordance with

the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

(RICS) and International Valuation Standards

(IVS) and are undertaken by appropriately

qualified valuers with extensive local experience.

The Professional Services Asteco conducts

throughout the region include:

• Consultancy and Advisory Services

• Market Research

• Valuation Services

SALES

Asteco has established a large regional property

sales division with representatives based in UAE,

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan.

Our sales teams have extensive experience in the

negotiation and sale of a variety of assets.

LEASING

Asteco has been instrumental in the leasing of

many high-profile developments across the GCC.

ASSET MANAGEMENT

Asteco provides comprehensive asset

management services to all property owners,

whether a single unit (IPM) or a regional mixed

use portfolio. Our focus is on maximising value

for our Clients.

OWNER ASSOCIATION

Asteco has the experience, systems, procedures

and manuals in place to provide streamlined

comprehensive Association Management and

Consultancy Services to residential, commercial

and mixed use communities throughout the GCC

Region.

SALES MANAGEMENT

Our Sales Management services are

comprehensive and encompass everything

required for the successful completion and

handover of units to individual unit owners.

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