Pier Walk Sold Off By Quintain Estates

Quintain Estates and Development, a British property investor, has sold off Pier Walk which is situated at Greenwich Peninsula to the Germany-based DekaBank. The property is situated in a location which is close to Canary Wharf of London. DekaBank is the leading open-ended fund manager of Germany.

A whopping £97.1 million ($154.4m; Dh567m) was paid in cash by Deka Immobilien GmbH in exchange for the property, which is almost 6% up from the face value of the property that had been evaluated during March 2010. The investment yield will stand at 5.9%.

Dubai rentals

Dubai Real Estate Transactions Grow In First Five Months

According to the Dubai Land Department, the transactions in the real estate sector have showcased a positive growth in the first five months of this year when compared to the corresponding period last year. 3,642 land sales worth Dh 25 billion have been recorded during this first five months. Out of the 3,169 residential properties in dubai that have been sold off since January 2010, 2,927 were apartments, of which 10 per cent have been mortgaged.

The total land area that has been sold off is about 62,815 square feet. According to the Dubai Focus section in reidin.com, in 2009, 4,961 residential lands were sold off. 3,750 mortgages worth Dh3 2 billion with an area of 95,460 square feet have been recorded during the first five month of 2010. According to the department's assistant director-general Mohammad Sultan Thani, "While we may see less value there are many more transactions on a daily basis compared to last year."

Dubai rentals

Risk of Property Bubble of Asia Moderate

According to the international credit rating company Moody’s, even though the property prices have surged, there is only a moderate level of risk from the asset bubbles that have developed in Asia.

According to Deborah Schuler who is the Senior Vice-President at Moody's handling the ratings in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the steps adopted by the government to ease the market have proven to be effective. "At the moment, we think asset bubbles are confined to the property sector and it's still only a moderate risk," she said.

Dubai rentals

Low Rents Increases Dubai Villas Demand

Reports claim that there is a tremendous increase in the demand for villas in Dubai. The major reason behind this is the steep decline in the rents, which was a result of excessive supply of the property into the real estate market. The real estate firm expects that Dubai will be the abode to 3,500 to 4,000 more villas by end of 2010.

"Villa rentals are looking very attractive at the moment. With a further supply of villas to enter Dubai, rentals are expected to decline although at a slow pace. This could trigger a 10 per cent further decline in villa rents. However, villas are strong assets for Dubai and demand for villas is always likely to be higher than apartments. If there is any correction in rental rates for villas it is only because it is a natural market situation," said Mohanad Alwadiya, Managing Director, Harbor Real Estate.

Abu Dhabi's 2030 vision is Cityscape centrepiece

A huge scale model of how the capital of the United Arab Emirates will appear in 2030 was unveiled today and forms the centrepiece of this year's Cityscape Abu Dhabi. The 23 metre by 17 metre display is the biggest single model on show at Cityscape, the largest gathering of real estate professionals in the Middle East so far this year being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre until 21 April 2010 under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, viewed the 1:2000 model unveiled on the stand of the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council during an opening tour of Cityscape. Sheikh Hamed is also Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world and chairman of General Holding Corporation, the parent company of Emirates Steel.
The model showcases major urban planning initiatives, bringing together economic, cultural, environmental and social aspirations of Abu Dhabi in a single format. The model covers an area from the Corniche on Abu Dhabi's main island to Shahama, Mussafah and Al Falah on the mainland and includes the islands of Saadiyat, Yas, Lulu, Reem and Sowwah.
Property management