Danube chief shrugs off concerns over Dubai residential property oversupply

Danube founder Rizwan Sajan is confident of prospects of selling all of its new Dh300 million Resortz project within a month.

Rizwan Sajan, founder of Danube Properties, is confident of a quick turnaround for Resortz partly because 305 of the 419 apartments are studios, which are most popular with investors. Courtesy Danube Properties

The founder of Danube Properties, Rizwan Sajan, shrugged off concerns about overcapacity in Dubai’s residential property market after the launch of its eighth project, the Dh300 million Resortz development.

Mr Sajan said that although there were developers who were struggling to sell inventory, he is confident that all of the 444 units (including retail) it is building at Resortz, which is based at Arjan near Miracle Gardens, would be sold within weeks.

“Hopefully, it is going to be sold out in a month,” he said.

“Every market, there are two sides of the coin. On the one side, you will see in Dubai also there are some people who are crying - profit is not good, this or that is not happening. On the other side, you will see a lot of people are flourishing

“It depends on how you perceive the market. If you talk to most of the developers, they will say the market is cold and they are not able to sell. You look at it as Danube, we are.”

Danube Properties launched 1,274 units onto the market last year, with a combined development value of about Dh1bn. It also awarded Dh521m worth of construction contracts.

Mr Sajan said that he anticipates a 25 per cent to 30 per cent increase this year in the combined value of projects launched to between Dh1.2bn and Dh1.3bn.

He said that he was confident of a quick turnaround for Resortz partly because of its make-up - 305 of the 419 apartments are studios, which are most popular with investors due to the lower ticket price. Of the remainder, 54 are one-bed units, 56 are two-beds and there are four, three-bedroom apartments. There are also 25 retail units available at the site, which will consist of three, ground-plus-four storey blocks on a four-acre site. The company anticipates selling studios for Dh450,000 to Dh500,000, one-beds from Dh800,000 and two-bed apartments from Dh1.1m to Dh1.2m.

Atif Rahman, a director of Danube Properties, said that Danube is now close to handing over its first project, Dreamz by Danube, which was launched in June 2014.

“Quarter two will see the handover of our second and third projects, Glitz 1 and Glitz 2, followed by our next project, Glitz 3, in quarter three this year. So it’s going to be a landmark year with a lot of handovers,” he said.

He added that of the projects launched last year, preliminary works have taken place on both Starz and Glamz, and concrete pours for each building’s foundations are likely to take place this month and next month respectively.

Mr Sajan said that tenders had been issued for its seventh project, the 600-unit Miraclz development, and that a contract award was likely within the next four months. Following this, it will issue tenders for Resortz.

Danube Properties has already acquired a site for its next project, which is likely to launch in April.

“In the summer, we should be able to pick up a couple of more plots,” said Mr Sajan.