A 24,500 square feet sand plot in Jumeirah Bay has sold for Dh125 million ($34 million), making it the most expensive land plot sold in the UAE.
The transaction last week surpassed the previous record for a land plot sale of Dh91 million, according to global property consultancy Knight Frank, which represented the seller and buyer in the deal.
The plot was worth Dh5,100 per square foot, the broker said on Monday.
The plot was sold to an international buyer, although their identity was not disclosed. They will build a custom-built mansion on the plot.
The seller is Umar Kamani, the 35-year-old founder of UK-based fashion retailer PrettyLittleThing, Knight Frank said.
“Demand has been very strong because of the exclusivity and scarcity of supply in Jumeirah Bay," Andrew Cummings, partner and head of prime residential at Knight Frank, told The National.
"With only over 100 plots for people to buy, many owners see it as their forever home. So, when people approach owners to buy property with big numbers and big profits, they don’t want to sell."
“A Dh125 million transaction would normally represent a spectacular penthouse or palatial mansion. However, Jumeirah Bay’s exclusivity means that this only buys you the sand on which to build your dream home.
“This is another sign that Dubai is the number one destination for international real estate investment due to the attractive lifestyle and business-friendly environment.”
Dubai’s luxury home sales hit Dh6 billion in the first quarter of 2023, with wealthy buyers snapping up 88 units valued at more than $10 million as prime property sales continued to pick up amid a wider economic recovery.
The emirate’s prime residential markets of Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Jumeirah Bay Island accounted for 64 per cent of luxury home sales during the three-month period, with average transaction prices in these high-demand locations reaching Dh8,800 per square foot, Knight Frank said in a report earlier this month.
Dubai has been ranked as the world’s fourth-most active market in the luxury residential segment as sales of prime properties continue to pick up, the company said in March.
Last year, the emirate recorded the sale of 219 homes priced above $10 million, with the total value of the transactions reaching $3.8 billion. That ranks Dubai behind New York (244 sales), Los Angeles (225 sales) and London (223 sales), according to Knight Frank.
The average price of ultra-luxury homes in Dubai rose by more than 27 per cent in the first quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter, according to a report by Luxhabitat Sotheby’s, based on data from the Dubai Land Department.
The average price of a prime property in the emirate increased to Dh25.2 million, the report said.
The plot was bought two years ago for Dh36.5 million, according to the Dubai Land Department, netting the seller a Dh88.5 million profit, Bloomberg said on Monday.
It is one of only 128 originally offered on Jumeirah Bay Island by developer Meraas Holding. All of the parcels were initially sold off years ago, it said.
The seller in the transaction owns an identical plot next to the one sold and plans to sell it for Dh135 million, the report added.
Jumeirah Bay Island has become a highly sought-after real estate commodity, with land prices soaring threefold in recent years, according to Knight Frank.
“This sale further solidifies the island’s status as a super-prime destination, joining the ranks of exclusive developments like the Bulgari Lighthouse, which recently set the record for the most expensive penthouse sale at Dh410 million,” the consultancy said.
A Dh125m transaction would normally represent a spectacular penthouse or palatial mansion. However, Jumeirah Bay’s exclusivity means that this only buys you the sand on which to build your dream home
Andrew Cummings,
partner and head of prime residential, Knight Frank
The Bulgari Lighthouse tower deal, which set a record for the most expensive apartment sale in Dubai, was an off-plan purchase for a nine-bedroom home with five parking spaces, DLD data showed.
Set across 38,970 square feet, the price means it sold at Dh10,521 per square foot, with the deal registered on February 1.
Bulgari Lighthouse is a 27-storey residence overlooking the sea, and will have 31 penthouses.
Watch: The $60 million mansion we take a look around Dubai's newest party palace
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Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
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The biog
Family: Parents and four sisters
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah
A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls
Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction
Favourite holiday destination: Italy
Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning
Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes
Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure
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Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
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Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
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Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
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The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
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On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
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Results
1.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Al Suhooj, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)
2pm Handicap (TB) 68,000 (D) 1,950m
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