Half of the properties in Binghatti Properties' latest branded residences project in Downtown Dubai – Mercedes-Benz Places – have sold out a day after it was launched, signalling robust buyer demand on the back of the UAE’s vibrant property market, its chief executive has said.
Having announced the 65-storey residential project in early December, the Dubai developer hosted the launch of the project on Wednesday in the Meydan Hotel.
The response to the sales since it was announced less than two months ago has been "phenomenal", Muhammad BinGhatti told The National on Thursday.
He confirmed that 50 per cent of the project, which is expected break ground this year, has already been sold.
Mercedes-Benz Places – the German auto giant's first branded property project – will have 150 residences of two- to four-bedroom units and five penthouses that will have uninterrupted views of the Burj Khalifa.
Unlike with many of the branded projects that have been launched in the city, however, buyers of apartments in the new project will not receive a brand new Mercedes car.
The southern facade of the building – the opposite side facing the Burj Khalifa – features cladding that provides shading from the sun and provides electricity for up to 40 electric vehicles per day, Mr BinGhatti said.
"The idea is that it's a single-leaf design. The front elevation is all units facing Downtown and the rear is this solid facade that features these photovoltaic systems," he said.
"It's also designed on that side of the facade in line with the solar path. That's why we kept that side completely shaded and the other side more open."
The building's elliptical exterior is influenced by the curvature of some of the latest Mercedes-Benz cars, including the Vision EQXX, the Vision One-Eleven and the Concept CLA Class, which was unveiled at the IAA Mobility 2023 show in Munich.
The project is scheduled to be delivered by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Mercedes-Benz Places is Binghatti Properties' third branded project in Dubai, after the launches of Bugatti Residences by Binghatti in Dubai’s Business Bay and Burj Binghatti Jacob & Co Residences.
Sales in both projects are "doing very well" and they are about to launch the second phase in each development, Mr BinGhatti said.
"With Jacob & Co, we've just hit a billion dirhams in sales. In Bugatti, we've just exceeded a billion dirhams in sales. On both of those, we've successfully sold out phase one and now we're preparing to launch phase two."
Dubai's luxury home market reached record levels in 2023, with sales of $10 million-plus homes nearly doubling to $7.6 billion and outstripping global rivals London and New York, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.
Twice as many $10 million-plus homes were sold in Dubai than in New York during the first nine months of the year – 323 in Dubai compared with 159 in New York, Knight Frank said.
The figures underline Dubai's status as the “world’s most active $10 million-plus homes market", according to Faisal Durrani, head of research for Mena at Knight Frank.
Branded residences offer the developer "a more international audience", Mr BinGhatti said.
"These brands have existed globally for more than a century. They have fan bases all around the world, so it opens up a new audience for us."
While the site in Downtown Dubai is one of the last areas to be developed, Binghatti Properties has recently acquired a plot of land in the neighbouring Business Bay for Dh370 million ($100.7 million).
Mr BinGhatti stated that the upcoming development on this land will be luxurious, but not necessarily branded.
"It is a luxury development, but we haven't really decided if this is going to be branded or not," he said.
"We're always on the lookout for collaborations that we see beneficial for us as a developer and as a brand, but we're very selective and very wary of who we're collaborating with and who we're participating with. If we don't see an added value, it's not something we'll jump at.
"It has to be something that adds value to our portfolio. We've done automotive, we've done horology, so if there is anything on the horizon, it would be something from a different industry, if we are to consider it."
Dubai's property market, which has been on the rise since Covid-19, will see further growth but not at the same rate, according to Mr BinGhatti.
"What I foresee moving forward is we will see a continuous increase in prices. However, it won't be as sharp as the year before but it will steadily continue to grow," he said.
"I do expect something between a 10 [per cent] to 15 per cent increase over the next 12 to 18 months."
