Dubai Properties sweetens villa deals with incentives

Dubai Properties was the first to announce villa sales this year in La Quinta, phase two of its master community Villanova off the Dubai-Al Ain highway.

Dubai Properties is leading the charge for recovery in the villa sales market in Dubai. The developer was the first to announce villa sales this year in La Quinta, phase two of its master community Villanova off the Dubai-Al Ain highway.

In a bid to attract investors and end-users, Dubai Properties is making an aggressive sales pitch for standalone villas in La Quinta, both on the pricing and incentives.

At a time when developers are reducing unit size to maximise sales, DP is swimming against the tide. "The La Quinta villas are large, with a three-bed from 2,000 plus square feet and priced from Dh2.2 million," said Marwan Al Kindi, executive director - sales and sales operations, Dubai Properties.

A four-bed carries a price tag of Dh2.7 million while a five-bed unit is priced from Dh3.2 million and goes up to Dh3.7 million.

"Unlike other developers, we are not charging for the 400+ square feet of parking space that comes with the villas," informed Al Kindi. DP is also waiving off 50 per cent of the Dubai Land Department fees on most of its projects.

Demand for cluster homes
With an average per sq ft price of Dh900, La Quinta will be a competitive buy for end-users. DP's earlier release of cluster homes in Amarante, the first phase of Villanova, also received a good market response. All the phases in Villanova will be handed over in tandem in 2020.

"We want to ensure that the community will be ready in all aspects when people move in," said the senior executive.

The villa sector was the worst affected by the market softening in the first half of 2016. However, Dubai Properties witnessed good end-user demand for villa and townhouse launches in communities such as Mudon and Serena.

"Bella Casa and Casa Dora, phases in Serena, are almost sold out. A two-bed townhouse is priced Dh1.25 million while a three-bed costs Dh1.55 million. We are planning a sales launch this year," adds Al Kindi.

Meanwhile, all four phases of Mudon are sold out, with residents having already moved into the first two phases.

"There is still demand for villas and townhouses. We have been seeing robust sales in the past two months. We will release units based on demand and to avoid oversupply in the market," he observes.

The developer is also busy in the apartment market. It has begun handover of apartments in Dubai Wharf and Manazel Al Khor in Culture Village. "We will also eventually include affordable apartments in our villa communities," informs Al Kindi.

Apartments in the pipeline
Meanwhile, DP has mid-priced apartments in the two-tower Bellevue Residence in Downtown Dubai with units facing the Burj Khalifa. It is slated to be handed over in 2019. "The price for a 1-bed here starts from Dh1.4 million, this is very competitive. Although the price is affordable, we have kept the size standard. A 1-bed apart will measure 860 sqft," Al Kindi explains.

"We want to keep our customers happy, in terms of quality and size during handover. People want affordable housing but at the same time they want to ensure that when they get handover, the unit size is liveable," he concludes.

- deepthi@khaleejtimes.com

Deepthi Nair

deepthi@khaleejtimes.com