Real estate developers are offering discounts, fee waivers and other deals as transaction volumes remain soft due to oversupply concerns amid the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown.
Dubai South earlier this month unveiled a rent-to own scheme for new tenants at The Pulse development near Expo 2020 site, while Aldar is offering a range of incentives on properties in Abu Dhabi. Bloom also announced new payment schemes and fee waivers at its properties in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“UAE developers have resumed off-plan sales launches following a subdued second quarter, with a renewed focus on promotional offers and creative incentives to attract buyers,” Chris Hobden, associate director and head of strategic consultancy at Chestertons Mena, said.
“Recent incentives have focused on reducing upfront purchase costs, as seen in Dubai South’s recently announced rent-to-own scheme, or incorporate broad promotions such as cash rebates, service fee waivers and extended post-handover payment plans.”
House prices across both emirates have continued to soften over the past 12 months. In Dubai, average apartments have declined in value by 9.5 per cent year-on-year while villa prices are 7.2 per cent lower, according to Chestertons Mena. In Abu Dhabi, average apartment prices are 5.3 per cent lower and villas have fallen by 4.8 per cent.
Aldar, Abu Dhabi's biggest developer, is offering a range of incentives on its properties including a 4 per cent rebate on new home purchases as well as the waiving of service charges and maintenance fees for three years. The company is also partnering with banks in Abu Dhabi to offer home finance at low-interest rates at some of its developments in the capital.
“The vastly changed commercial landscape in 2020 has presented a pressing need and an important call to action for the leading players in the market to adapt quickly and provide more flexible and sensible solutions for tenants and homebuyers,” Rashed Al Omaira, an executive director at Aldar Properties, said.
Aldar has taken “timely, critical steps towards bringing convenient solutions and innovative financing offers to our customers, from providing several rent-to-own schemes and the possibility of paying rent by credit or via monthly payment plans, to offering subsidised financing solutions in some of our most sought-after destinations in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Dubai South, on the other hand, announced a ten year rent-to-own scheme for buyers at any of the communities at its master-planned development near the Expo site.
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Dh120m Palm Jumeirah mansion comes with a Ferrari and Rolls Royce
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As part of the deal, customers are being allowed to make quarterly rent payments towards their homes while living in them, with the amounts paid contributing towards full ownership after a period of ten years. A two-month rent-free period is being offered as part of the scheme at the start of the contract.
“Given the current environment, we are highly conscious of the challenges faced by many and have created a scheme that gives tenants the assurance of owning their own property without any major upfront investments,” Mohammed Al Awadhi of Dubai South Properties, said.
Bloom Properties is also offering deals at its properties including Park View and Soho Square in Abu Dhabi and Bloom Towers and Bloom Heights in Dubai. Offers range from service charge waivers to 50 per cent reductions on Dubai Land Department fees, as well as attractive payment terms.
“We expect a cautious recovery of transaction activity as the economic sentiment gradually improves. However, we foresee potential buyers remaining hesitant in their investment decisions resulting in continued downward pressure on transaction volumes and sales prices,” David Abood, a partner at Core Real Estate, said.
Although buying activity is improving, there is still a lot of stock to absorb. About 38,000 units are scheduled for handover in Dubai during the second half of the year, according to JLL. Chestertons says 5,200 units are due to be delivered in Abu Dhabi, although both expect completion delays, particularly as social distancing measures have been in place on construction sites.
Some developers, such as Sharjah-based Arada, say they are continuing to sell units without offering any additional incentives to customers.
“We are in a relatively fortunate position, as the demand for well-designed integrated communities in Sharjah still remains resilient, especially in comparison to other markets in the UAE,” Ahmed Al Khoshaibi, chief executive of Arada, said.
“While sales dipped during the lockdown period, they have since surged, especially during June and July, which have been some of the best-performing sales months during Arada’s history.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mountain%20Boy
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Afro%20salons
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.