Dubai Properties is to launch the second phase tomorrow of its Arabella community of town houses in the Mudon development bordering Emirates Road.
Masood Al Awar, the chief commercial officer at Dubai Properties, said that the developer will release 200 two, three, four and five-bedroom town houses tomorrow, as well as presenting the project at the International Property Show, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from Monday to Wednesday next week.
Dubai Properties launched the first phase of Arabella in May last year and reported that all of the homes on offer sold out on its launch day. Phase one contains 500 units and is currently being built by Trojan General Contracting.
The first phase consisted of three and four-bed properties, but phase two will also have two-bed and five-bed units.
“We are always trying to fill market requirements and customer needs, we have known that these will be required and we have designed a better mix for the people because we want to attract different segments and different categories,” said Mr Al Awar, who joined Dubai Properties in December after stepping down from his previous role as the chief executive of Tasweek Real Estate Development and Marketing.
The two-bed units at Arabella start in price at Dh1.3 million, three-beds at Dh1.6m, four beds at Dh2.2m and five beds at Dh2.6m. These will be close to site facilities such as Mudon Central Park featuring jogging and cycling trails, sports courts and exercise stations, and some outdoor cafes, play areas and shops.
Mr Al Awar expects that a contractor for the project will be appointed in six to eight months, with properties to be delivered by the end of 2018. The units are being offered on a payment plan, with a 10 per cent deposit required and a further 30 per cent payable during construction. The remaining 60 per cent is payable on handover.
When asked how it compares with the nearby Nshama Town Square scheme that faces Mudon on Emirates Road, where the first phase of town houses had three-bed units priced from Dh1m and four-beds from Dh1.2m, Mr Al Awar said that Dubai Properties had “done enough benchmarking to make sure that our offering is very competitive”.
“Different markets have different segments. I think Arabella 1 was very successful. Built on that, we are launching this product. We understand very clearly that this product is well positioned in the market and it will be absorbed, because we are offering value.”
Richard Paul, a director of residential valuations at Cluttons, said on Wednesday that a developer’s track record can play a major role in pricing, with those who have managed to bed down established communities such as Emaar Properties and Dubai Properties able to charge a premium.
“If they’re brand new to the market, they have to overdeliver everything and really put out a shining example of what they can do. And not cut corners.
“The speculators have left. If we’re talking about owner-occupiers they’re going to be here for five or 10 years and they will want to know what this place is going to look like in five or 10 years.”
mfahy@thenational.ae
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