Much has happened in Dubai over the last 12 months; the development of investor protections laws, the reinforcement of Escrow requirements and a shift in global market dynamics that has seen unprecedented numbers of foreign investors moving to the Middle East to enjoy the benefits of a tax free life in sun drenched luxury.
Similar sentiments may today resonate across many sectors, but DAMAC managing director Ziad El Chaar has said it all before.
“At Cityscape 2011 we sent a message out to everybody that the market is growing, that Dubai is back and that you need to be in this real estate market. All the factors that have happened over the 11 months since are showing that we can go to Cityscape 2012 and say we were right,” he asserts.
By the end of 2011, transactions were up 20% and figures from Dubai Land Department (DLD) show transactions increased 21% during H1 2012.
While it has its benefits, year round sunshine is not the sole factor behind the rising rate of transactions – and the renewed push in construction. Praising the foresight of government planning authorities, El Chaar observes the heightened activity is concentrated in areas of Dubai that also have high quality infrastructure – not only in terms of 12-lane high ways and metro stations, but social amenities such as schools, hospitals and entertainment facilities.
“The fundamentals of demand in this country are based in geographical location, which I am sure has not changed; life style; and the services provided for all the companies from free zones to business set ups and export markets. This market now is very strong in these terms.
“[With this infrastructure] your life in that area is complete. It’s not just about developing an area to have utilities it’s about having great connection to this area and the whole rest of the world. With all these things available in this area and the current prices, this is the most promising real estate market currently” he continues.
And as the market regains momentum, so too does the diversity of the investor profile, with more ‘middle classes’ residing in communities alongside those of the rich and super rich, El Chaar goes on to explain, concluding that recent development are testament to a “complete market”.
An artist’s imagining of the Burjside Boulevard Exterior, one of DAMAC’s flagship properties.
Walking the talk
With 50 projects currently under construction across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Cairo, Jordan, Lebanon and Qatar, DAMAC continues to shout about its achievements; in a way only its Middle East target market could possibly understand.
Earlier this year the luxury developer fully embraced the glitz culture of the Arabian world by pledging to give away luxury cars, speed boats and cash to its buyers during the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) an event world renowned for its lavish giveaways.
“We said it was important to do something like this to show the market is growing again because you cannot do such promotion if the market is not there. We have wanted to walk the talk that we gave at Cityscape 2011,” he clarifies.
Far from believing this to perpetuate the heady and financially excessive reputation of the UAE’s golden Emirate, El Chaar says it was all in the spirit of the season
He adds: “People like the giveaways here and this is why people come to Dubai. They like the summer surprises and the shopping festivals. It’s like one giant big circus and everybody loves the circus.”
People may love the circus, but like Dubai’s market it still has a shaky reputation for those who haven’t visited recently.
As a developer that has been around since the first upward curve in the early 2000s DAMAC is now using its international media pull to promote the UAE and wider region as an investor haven, with stable and protective legislation in addition to high levels of personal safety and generous salaries.
“We have not yet spread the word enough on how protected the market is here, so this is now part of a new plan that we have, to talk more and more about these laws in our brochures, on the website and in the media.
“Many people did not notice [these laws] in September 2008 because they had too many distractions around them to focus on something like this,” he adds.
DAMAC’s other eye is firmly on the luxury buyers’ market and evolving to the needs of the global jetsetter who wants an apartment in every port. Q2 2013 will see the launch of Burjside Boulevard – overlooking Burj Khalifa – the first in a string of planned serviced apartment offerings that will offer residents – no matter how long or little they reside in their apartment for – “one of the most comprehensive concierge services”, according to El Chaar and the project is close to selling out.
“The moment you arrive you are offered every service you need, from bookings to car rentals to baby sitting and concert tickets. Anything you would expect a concierge to do,” he says, adding that such developments are helping to evolve competition in the serviced apartments market.
Explaining that the concept brings DAMAC back to its leading luxury standard roots, El Chaar says DAMAC’s serviced apartments brand is rooted on four pillars: luxury, location, rental returns and world class concierge services.
But luxury isn’t just about the branding of a product. As El Chaar himself says; luxury is also about quality, and that means location, design – for which DAMAC has won a number of awards – amenities and the endurance of the built structure.
With contractors carefully selected according to specific qualifications assessed by DAMAC’s technical management team, El Chaar says there are five criteria that must be met: Experience; quality of projects delivered to date; financial capability; experience in the market; and reputation.
“You cannot have luxury without quality. When we have a new customer today we do not take them to the new buildings, we take them to our first building, Marina Terrace, which is seven years old.
“Once we take them and they see the building and that it is seven years old, they see the quality enduring.
“In terms of building codes, we have one of the best building codes in the world. The quality isn’t just the quality of paint, it’s the quality of the foundations, structure and facades, the glass, the quality of the endurance to any effects whether seismic or otherwise. We have one of the best civil defence codes in the region or even world,” he continues.
This year, the message to Cityscape Global is one of resilience and success, with the promotion of existing projects and the stability of the regional market taking precedent. For El Chaar it’s all about the tangible return on an abstract concept. And free massages for visitors to the developer’s prime location stand.
“The good thing is that, today, you can find here a market for everyone. Dubai is no longer just building for the rich and the superrich, now there are communities that will provide a very nice environment for everybody.
“This Cityscape we will continue to focus on the same products we did last year, including the luxury serviced apartments concept, in which market we will be the number one in the Middle East. This is our focus.”