In the inaugural installment of our Ask-a-broker series, we have asked Michael Michael, the director of sales at
, to answer a few questions swirling out there in the market. For future installments, we'd like questions from readers, so send your questions to cranecountry@thenational.ae.
Here were the questions:
1) What are the most popular ares for renters? For buyers?
2) What is the rental return if you buy an apartment in some of these neighborhoods?
3) Which neighborhoods are loosing popularity?
Answers after the jump.
Question:
What are the most popular ares for renters? For Buyers?
Answer
: Our leasing consultants at Landmark Properties are finding that the majority of the enquiries received are for Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence. With the lower rental rates, our clients are looking to take advantage of opportunities that arise in these much sought-after areas. For buyers, we've seen that the majority of enquiries being received are for The Springs and for The Meadows. These are established communities which are well located and have great community facilities and access points. More recently we have seen an increase in Jumeirah Village and Jumeirah Lake Towers areas. Accordingly, the primary interest with our clients directs them towards taking advantage of our villa prices.
Question:
What is the rental return if you buy an apartment in some of these neighborhoods?
Answer:
Apartments in the Marina can quite easily achieve a 10% ROI; and most definitely if you purchased at OP (original price) from the developer at the time of launch (pre first quarter 2008). If you weren't able to buy directly from the developer, we see the returns from the secondary market based on an average of Dh1000 per sq ft with an 8 - 12% ROI.
Question:
Which neighborhoods are loosing popularity?
Answer:
For leasing, the lower end of the market such as International City and Discovery Gardens took a hit in the sense that people can now upgrade and pay a similar rent but live in the heart of Dubai. However, due to the increased cost of rent in Ajman and Sharjah, meant that people in those areas could now relocate to International City and Discovery Gardens at much better rates and accordingly be situated in a more convenient and accessible location compared to those areas. You could say that International City lost popularity with the end user. However, this was compensated for by the investors who were taking advantage of great prices and still received an 8 - 10% ROI, therefore creating an increased interest from the buyers' market.
