Nakheel wins ‘International Samoter Award

Nakheel, the United Arab Emirate's leading property developer, announced today that they have received global recognition for their leading design and exceptional vision, from the esteemed construction awards ceremony, held in Italy, by Samoter, the International Exhibition of Earth Moving, Site and Building Industry Machinery.

"It is fantastic that Nakheel is being recognized for its iconic developments, by a global audience, and on such a prominent international platform. Never before have projects of this magnitude been imagined, let alone undertaken" said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, Nakheel.

This international commendation, received for the iconic creation and dramatic design of both The Palm, and The World projects, has been shared with the leadership of the country, Nakheel's founders, and representatives of Dubai's government. The prestigious 'International State' award was presented by His Excellency Pietro Lunardi, Italian Minister of Public Works, to Mr Mahmood Saleh, Secretary General, The Corporate Office, UAE, for their outstanding support and innovative architectural vision of the future.

Commenting on the award he accepted on behalf of The Corporate Office, Mr Mahmood Saleh, Secretary General, The Corporate Office, said "such an international achievement, highlighting the dynamism of Dubai, enables us to convey to the international audience the exceptional speed of development and unparalleled dynamism currently taking place in the United Arab Emirates. As a country we have a clear vision of expansion, and we are uniquely positioned to execute this vision with clarity and speed...The Palm and The World are two such visionary projects."

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, Nakheel continued, "To be presented with such a highly esteemed award affirms Nakheel's status as a global player and reflects our precise sense of vision. This accomplishment highlights the immense visionary powers of the company, powers that enable us to not only imagine, but also deliver these mega project promises into a reality."
Satellite rendering of Nakheel's visionary projects

The first stages of development for The Palm, Jumeriah are now complete. Sand reclamation has reached 100% and construction of both the supporting infrastructure and the exclusive villas is well underway and sand reclamation on The World has already surpassed the 50% mark. Once the projects are complete they are expected to be visible from the moon; the Palm, Jumeriah is already visible from space.

GoWealthy.com

Dubai property: demand greatly exceeds supply

A friend just got a demand for a 37% rental increase in Dubai this week, and paid it as there was no cheaper alternative. Similarly if you want to buy a one-bedroom flat in the re-sale market there were none at the last inspection of the classified ads.
United Arab Emirates: 15 minutes ago

This pattern is repeated in most sectors of the Dubai market. Buying off-plan re-sales is rather different; there are still many greedy speculators sat on partial payments whose price expectations are very ambitious. But of course you can not actually live in an off-plan apartment.

Indeed, the crux of the supply and demand equation in Dubai is that most building programmes are running a long way behind schedule. Nakheel is promising a definitive timetable for delivery 'within four weeks' but buyers in the Jumeirah Islands villa project have been annoyed that their moving in date of this month is now October, or it was this week.

Delays on delivery are not new in Dubai, but waiting times are getting longer. The Meadows 3 and 4 came in two months late just over a year ago, now slippages of more than six months are the norm.

This adds to the pressure on the existing housing stock. Last year some 250,000 new residents moved into Dubai. Now even allowing for the fact that perhaps only a quarter needed upscale housing, this still amounts to more than 60,000 people in need of a home.

Now if a new housing project is late those people still have to live somewhere. That adds to the competition for the existing housing stock and allows landlords to jack up the rental rates. Actually the market does this; landlords just pick up the cheques.

Higher rents mean that yields are better for existing home owners, and make property investment more attractive therefore boosting demand for homes and house prices. Meanwhile, those in rented accommodation get fed up with rising rents and go and buy something.

This is the supply and demand dynamic of a rapidly growing population like Dubai. Those who have hoped for a sudden oversupply of property have been very disappointed so far, and the day of oversupply keeps on getting delayed, just like most of the actual projects. This is no surprise as one is partly the cause of the other.

Under this kind of virtuous investment cycle house prices will continue to rise until the market overheats, and residents can not afford to live in Dubai.

However, in Europe and other parts of the world people are used to living in much smaller and crowded accommodation, and it could be some time before Dubai housing comes close to a true crisis point; new supply will therefore relieve pressure rather than dampen the market, and is certainly not about to crash it anytime soon.

Until that distant crisis point, the supply/demand equation will push rents and house prices higher and higher; and the recent arrival of local wage and consumer price inflation can only enhance this effect further.

Ameinfo

Light Rail to Waterfront

The $3.4bn Dubai light rail linking Dubai International Airport and Jebel Ali airport may run on to Nakheel's Waterfront development close to the Abu Dhabi border, Nakheel CEO James Wilson is reported as saying in Gulf News. Nakheel is forming a new unit, Waterfront Company, for the ambitious Waterfront project which will be built over ten years and have a capacity for 500,000 residents.

Ameinfo