My Own Home: Couple’s first Dubai property surges in value by Dh1 million in a year

Imran Ahmed and Neelofar Rafique-Ahmed bought a three-bedroom corner unit villa in Dubai South

Imran Ahmed and his wife Neelofar bought a three-bedroom home at the Pulse Villas in Dubai South for Dh2.35 million in September 2023. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

The living room

The dining area

The kitchen

The master bedroom

The outdoor kitchen

The garden

The sitting area on the landing

The reading nook

One of two guest bedrooms

The second guest bedroom

Another view of the living room

The balcony

My Own Home takes you inside a reader-owned property to ask how much they paid, why they decided to buy and what they have done with it since moving in

Imran Ahmed, who works for British research firm YouGov in the UAE, and his wife Neelofar Rafique-Ahmed, a former legal business manager turned freelance children’s illustrator, moved to Dubai from London six years ago after visiting the city on their honeymoon.

Now, they can’t see themselves going anywhere else any time soon.

The couple bought their first property for Dh2.35 million ($626,000) last year after renting in The Greens for five years, and they couldn’t be happier with their decision to buy in Dubai South.

They only moved in last October, but already they’ve been receiving offers that are nearly Dh1 million over their buying price.

The National takes a look around.

Please tell me about your home

Imran Ahmed: We bought a three-bedroom corner villa in The Pulse Villas, in Dubai South.

As it’s a corner unit, it affords a bit more land in the back, which is one of the main reasons why I bought it – we wanted some outdoor space.

It’s also got three en suite bedrooms and a nice little mezzanine upstairs.

Neelofar Rafique-Ahmed: It has a closed-off kitchen, which was one of our criteria.

We have a nice living space where we can have a large dining table and a larger sofa, so we can have lots of gatherings, and also a lovely garden.

Having a good-sized back garden was an attraction for Imran Ahmed and Neelofar Rafique-Ahmed. Pawan Singh / The National

Why did you decide to buy?

Neelofar: We moved here in 2018 and we decided to go for a two-bed apartment in The Greens, and we really enjoyed it there. But I think when it came to covid time, we just lacked that open space.

We had a balcony, which was lovely, but that was the precursor for us going and trying to get a new property, in particular a villa.

Imran: We thought, we’ve been here five years and we're really enjoying our time here, we can see ourselves staying here for a bit longer as well. So, why not invest?

In terms of finances, it just made a lot more sense to own than paying someone else's mortgage.

How much did you buy the property for?

Imran: We got it for Dh2.35 million. In terms of investments, it has been fantastic.

Obviously, since they announced [the major expansion of] Al Maktoum International Airport, the area has seen massive appreciation.

We’ve already had offers in excess of Dh3.2 million, so it’s been great.

Why did you choose Dubai South?

Imran: We knew that, longer term, it was the plan to build up this area and that the UAE generally delivers on their promises, so we were confident they were going to build this airport, and it was going to become the hub.

It's going to be very convenient when it's finally built for us as well, because we like travelling, so we're looking forward to an easier commute to the airport.

Dubai South received a boost from the announcement of the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, scheduled to be complete by 2030. Pawan Singh / The National

It is a bit further out from the hustle and bustle … but I think we felt like a bit of a change. We wanted somewhere a bit quieter and they built a really nice little community here.

It’s around 350 villas only at the moment, but everyone has moved in. They've come from all sort of backgrounds. We've really got to know our neighbours.

Neelofar: It’s just very, very pleasant. It's nice to settle down somewhere where you have a variety of people.

We've also got good shops here, we're getting some transport links here soon.

Imran: For me, the commute and connectivity is great. We’ve got the E 611 and Expo Road as well.

My commute to work is about 20 to 25 minutes and it’s all against traffic.

What facilities do you have access to?

Imran: We’ve got a large LuLu Hypermarket really close by.

They've also got communal football, basketball, tennis and padel courts that you can very easily access within walking distance.

There’s a skate park and then we’ve also got our own community centre, which has got a swimming pool and a really nice gym.

What renovations have you done?

Imran: We built a barbecue and outdoor kitchen right in front of the sliding doors from the living area, so we've got sort of an indoor-outdoor living situation.

We actually just finished our utility room.

Neelofar: We’ve put in a bookshelf upstairs on the landing as we had this little nook in the corner. You can go upstairs and it’s so quiet, and you can have a read in the reading corner.

The couple have put in a reading nook on their landing upstairs. Pawan Singh / The National

Imran: We added some workspace in the kitchen, some extra units and a bit more storage. We’ve spent probably another Dh100,000.

Now we just want to do some further decorating. We’ve still got some paintings we want to put up and a few pieces on order that we’re waiting to arrive.

What was your experience with your contractors like?

Imran: We’ve used a mixture of contractors and the most recent one was an absolutely brilliant experience. They came in, did the work within a week, most of it was done off site. They brought it in and installed everything in one day and cleaned up after themselves.

We’ve been very fortunate in terms of the recommendations that we’ve had.

Neelofar: Because we were first-time buyers, it can be hard to know where to go and what type of help we need. But it’s worked out for the best and we’ve made some good friendships with people and the workers and we’ll continue with them.

Imran: The other thing is we feel comfortable spending on the house. When we were renting, we hardly touched the place we lived in for five years. Now we’re spending on it and really making it our own.

How would you describe your interior style?

Neelofar: Stylish, but minimalist. The palette for the colours is very minimal.

We've gone for a neutral grey, with marble on the wall, which is grey and white. There are splashes of brown in places. We just wanted it to be fresh.

Imran: It’s a bit more modern, we’re not really into all the old stuff.

Neelofar: It just matches the style of the house, so something simple and basic.

How long do you see yourself living in this house?

Imran: I guess as long as we're in Dubai. Unless something big happens, I can't see us wanting to move any time soon.

If a good offer comes in that we can’t refuse, then we could potentially get moving, but for the moment we’re really enjoying it.

Neelofar: With so many developments in the area coming up, it’s nice to just stay.

Imran: And I think it’s only going to get better. They’re building a mall here soon. There’s a whole bunch of stuff that’s going to come here that’s going to make it even more liveable.