UAE- One reason to buy property now Affordable prices

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) For people to capitalise from all that Expo 2020 Dubai has to offer they have to buy property now at today's low prices says Farhad Azizi CEO and vice-chairman of Azizi Developments.

And the developer is quick to facilitate this by offering investors and end-users a plethora of investment options. Besides a bevy of residential units in Al Furjan where Azizi is the biggest private sub-developer with 24 plots the group is now testing the hospitality waters by launching two serviced residences.

The Dh460 million project comprises Candace Aster and Candace Acacia which will be run and managed by Candace Hotel and Resorts. Construction has already begun and the serviced residences will be delivered by the third quarter of 2017. Buyers can choose to either live in the units rent it out to tenants or avail the services of Candace to lease and manage the units on their behalf.

With 80 per cent of the first building already sold out it speaks volumes of the untapped market demand for serviced residences in the up-and-coming community adjacent to Discovery Gardens.

Buyer mix

"A lot of our buyers are GCC nationals followed by Indians and Pakistanis. It's been a mix of investors and end-users" explains Azizi. "The area is very popular. There are many people waiting to rent units in Discovery Gardens and The Gardens. So this is a good value proposition for investors."

Candace Aster features 227 apartments with 160 studios 58 one-bedroom and nine two-bedrooms whereas Candace Acacia features 316 units with 236 studios and 80 one-bedrooms. Sizes range from 440 to 1380 sqft.

A studio is available at a price of Dh433000 while a one-bedroom will cost you between Dh800000 to Dh1 million and two-bedroom units are priced at Dh1.2 million. Azizi estimates that investors can get a 10 to 12 per cent return on investment on the units.

The service charges at Candace will be comparable to those in Al Furjan which is around Dh10 to Dh15 per sqft.

Facilities include a gym swimming pool kids' pool restaurants cafe room service laundry and valet parking. All the apartments will be fully furnished. Positioned around 50 feet away from the proposed Metro line the location also provides easy access to business zones such as Jebel Ali Dubai Investments Park Al Maktoum International Airport and the Expo 2020 site.

Tourist influx

"This is the best time to invest in long- and short-term serviced homes. The Dubai government plans to double the number of tourists from 10 million to 20 million over a period of 10 years. This opens up a host of investment opportunities particularly in the hospitality sector" Azizi adds.

The group plans to launch over 2000 serviced residences by December 2016. Six to seven buildings in Al Furjan will be serviced residences. Azizi also has land holdings in the Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Healthcare City.

Starting this month Azizi is expected to deliver eight projects at Al Furjan - Azizi Feirouz Azizi Yasamine Azizi Liatris Azizi Orchid Azizi Iris Azizi Daisy Azizi Tulip and Azizi Freesia during 2016.

Defying rumours of a market slowdown the company witnessed around Dh800 million worth of sales in 2015 for its projects in Dubai.

"Our figures are robust. Last April we sold only 25 apartments; this April we have sold more than 200 apartments. We are not experiencing a sales slowdown. Low oil prices the Chinese stock market weakness and a strong US dollar are contributing to the weak sentiment. But Dubai is a city that can weather tough market conditions. Other such comparable cities are Hong Kong Sydney New York and Singapore" Azizi concludes.

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Deepthi Nair I cover all things related to real estate in the UAE. Working as a print journalist in Dubai since 2008 I have reported on all the flashy new projects in town. Dubai's passion for setting new records continues to amaze me. I love to do stories that strike a chord with the average expatriate in the UAE. If you have any news related to your community or rents you know who to get in touch with at Khaleej Times. When I am not working I travel catch up with friends mall trawl catch up on movies explore new places in town or just unwind in a spa. Originally from India I have been a journalist for more than 11 years. Language has been my forte right from school. That's me in a nutshell