Al Furjan is a hidden gem for investors

Al Furjan contains independent three- to six-bedroom villas and attached three-bedroom townhouses.

Al Furjan is a gated community combining villas, townhouses and apartment buildings on 560 hectares of land between Ibn Battuta Mall and Shaikh Mohammad bin Zayed Road and opposite Discovery Gardens. Although the first phase of the project is established and occupied, many people who are looking to buy properties are not familiar with this community and they might miss the opportunity for a good investment.

The master developer of Al Furjan is Nakheel, another big developer that built and delivered the Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Park Villas and Discovery Gardens, along with new projects under construction in other areas.

Residential apartments named 'Masakin Al Furjan' include mid-rise buildings (G+3, G+4, G+5) with 335 apartments and are built around a landscaped community. Given that the apartments are priced competitively, Masakin can be a very good investment opportunity.

When Nakheel started selling land, some private developers, such as Azizi Developments, invested in plots to build villas and apartment buildings. These run along the front of the development and will be perfectly positioned when the new Dubai Metro line is developed. Apartments are of mid-range quality and priced competitively.

Al Furjan's villa area contains independent three- to six-bedroom villas as well as attached three-bedroom townhouses in two themes: Quortaj and Dubai style. Nakheel has planned for a third style (Al Hejaz) but this category has not been delivered yet.

The villas are priced lower than those of similar specifications in Jumeirah Park and tend to have slightly smaller sections, but the quality is good.
All villas and townhouses are spacious with beautiful and practical layouts and good outdoor areas. The townhouses in particular are priced below places such as Springs, but offer a lot more space and a more modern fitout. The townhouses are excellent value for money.

The community areas cannot quite match Springs, but there are plenty of small parks and landscaped walkways as well as kids' play areas in the community. The community centre is not ready yet, but it is in the plan.

You can buy townhouses starting from Dh2.3 million while villas can be found from around Dh3.4 million up to Dh5.2 million for a six-bedroom villa. If you are renting, you can have a townhouse for about Dh155,000 or a villa for about Dh250,000.

With schools, hospitals, restaurants and Ibn Batuta Mall just a short drive away, living in Al Furjan is quite attractive. Access is improving with exits to Shaikh Mohammad bin Zayed Road, but it's still not ideal.

Azizi Developments, with a strong presence in the area, is adding more apartments to the community and these have good layouts. They can still be obtained off-plan with advantageous payment plans. You can easily own an off-plan studio apartment for as little as Dh500,000. Azizi also has plans to build three new hotel apartments in Al Furjan, which will be a big help to the area getting closer to Expo 2020.

The writer is a senior real estate consultant at Coldwell Banker. Views expressed are her own and do not reflect the newspaper's policies.