Sharjah-based real estate developer Arada recorded a 35 per cent increase in unit sales totalling Dh1.75 billion last year, the company said on Monday. The developer sold a total of 2,337 units across its two projects, Aljada and Nasma Residences, during the course of 2020.
The developer also signed new project financing agreements with two lenders – an initial Dh300m loan from Dubai Islamic Bank and a Dh37m facility with Ajman Bank. The two agreements follow earlier loans from lenders totalling Dh2bn, which were secured in 2017 and 2018.
“Against an incredibly difficult backdrop, Arada outperformed expectations over the course of 2020, awarding over Dh1bn in contracts and achieving exceptional sales results,” Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, chairman of Arada, said.
“In particular, we see the closure of the new financing agreements with Dubai Islamic Bank and Ajman Bank as another vote of confidence not just in Arada, but also in the resilience of the Sharjah property market.”
Arada is a joint venture between KBW Investments – a firm controlled by Saudi Arabia's Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed – and Sharjah-based Basma Group. The company is targeting further increases in its sales pipeline to achieve annual sales of Dh3bn by 2025, its chief executive Ahmed Alkhoshaibi told The National in August.
The company said that although sales dipped at the height of pandemic-induced movement restrictions in April, they recovered strongly in the second half of the year, with the developer posting its best quarterly performance in the three months to September.
Arada sold 1,977 units at its Dh24bn mixed-use community Aljada last year and will hand over the first homes there this month. It awarded key construction contracts in Aljada, including for the project’s second residential phase, East Village, and the SABIS International School being built within the development.
New districts were also opened within the masterplanned community and a family entertainment destination known as Madar.
Within Nasma Residences, 993 homes were completed in the first five phases of the Dh1.3bn villa and townhouse community in Al Tay. The development, which contains a 13-acre park and a community centre that will open in the first quarter of this year, is now sold out after the remaining 360 units were sold last year, the developer said.
Property transactions in Sharjah increased by 10 per cent to Dh4.6bn in the third quarter of last year, the emirate's real estate registration department said in November. During the same period, average sale prices were 20 per cent lower year-on-year "mainly due to increased competition from Dubai with more affordable options", according to consultancy Asteco.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
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Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
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Business Insights
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- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
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The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
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The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
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The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
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The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
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The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
