DUBAI // Three months' free rent in a luxurious new flat in Dubai? It's an offer that would have been almost inconceivable a few months ago - and it has attracted dozens of tenants to the stretch of the Palm Jumeirah known as the Golden Mile. The flats were put on the market on a 15-month rental deal with the final three months free, an offer that was snapped up by 40 clients before it expired last week. The incentives were introduced by the project's developers when they decided innovative measures were needed to avoid flats sitting empty.
It was the latest sign of the dramatic changes in a Dubai property market that has seen prices drop dramatically, and more tenant-friendly promotions have been promised by the same developers. Stuart Cassidy of IFA Hotels and Resorts, developers of the Golden Mile in partnership with Nakheel, said: "It was partly in response to the fact everyone is bringing down rents and also because in the first months of opening, there are going to be operational issues. In addition there are a lot of properties due to come onto the market.
"Rather than having apartments sitting empty for several months, it seemed a better idea to aim for a higher occupancy and offer three months for free. "There was quite a take-up. Before it was distinctly a landlord's market, but times have changed. "There is far more available out there and people are becoming more discerning about where they want to live." The three-months-free offer resulted in savings of between Dh27,000 (US$7,350) and Dh93,750 for the tenants, depending on the size of the flat.
The Golden Mile, which consists of 10 multi-storey buildings on the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah flanked on either side by shoreline apartments, will open in several phases. The neighbourhood will eventually include a shopping centre with boutiques and cafes, a monorail and 860 flats. The first phase to be occupied, consisting of 260 furnished and unfurnished flats, will be handed over to tenants and owners by the end of this month. Most have been let or sold and IFA says they are, on average, 50 per cent bigger than comparably priced properties..
Rents for one-bedroom flats, which are at least 410 square metres, start at Dh108,000 a year. At the top end of the development, 20 five-bedroom penthouses of 3,273 square meters rent for up to Dh375,000 a year. One-bedroom shoreline flats on the Palm would have cost up to Dh180,000 to rent a year ago and have dropped to as low as Dh110,000. There is one drawback among the bargains: the buildings are in the finishing stages of completion and pools and gyms, which will cost extra through a membership scheme, will not be ready for another six months. "That was a factor in deciding the rents," said Mr Cassidy, adding, "our landlords could be willing to give further incentives in the future."
tyaqoob@thenational.ae
