There's surplus in Dubai suburbs

dubai - Azizi Developments has Dh17 billion worth of projects under development in Dubai today

Azizi Developments has emerged as one of the bigger private developers in Dubai, going by its steady stream of property launches since last year. The group has a development portfolio of approximately Dh17 billion in the UAE.

Azizi dominates Nakheel's community of Al Furjan - drive through the area and several buildings emblazoned with the Azizi logo are either under construction or handed over.

"We have 30 plots in Al Furjan, we have consolidated them into 23 lots. We are one of the largest private developers in Al Furjan. Only three of our plots there are not under development, however, they are in the design stage," says Farhad Azizi, CEO of Azizi Developments.

The proof of the pudding is there for all to see - four buildings comprising 450 apartments were handed over in Al Furjan last year (Yasamine, Feirouz, Orchid and Liatris). The Azizi Iris has received the completion certificate and will be handed over in 10 days. "With that, we would have handed over 556 apartments in Al Furjan in total," the CEO adds.

"Al Furjan is a good area, close to the Expo 2020 site, Dubai Marina, Jebel Ali, Shaikh Zayed Road, Ibn Battuta Mall and theme parks. A town centre recently opened in Al Furjan and it's an area where families can live with all conveniences at their doorstep. A Metro station is coming up and road accessibility is also good," he points out.

Handovers this year
Azizi plans to hand over 1,450 apartments both in Al Furjan and the Palm Jumeirah this year. This would include two serviced apartment projects - Candace Aster and Candace Acacia in Al Furjan - which will be ready by August/September this year and the Dh350 million Royal Bay Residence on the Palm Jumeirah to be ready by May. The latter includes 90 boutique luxury serviced apartments and two penthouses, which will also be managed by Candace.

The Tulip, Daisy and Freesia buildings in Al Furjan will also be ready for handover later this year. Meanwhile, Azizi's second project on the Palm, Mina Palm Jumeirah, is in the infrastructure stage. The Dh750 million project includes 180 serviced apartments and six penthouses.

"Units in Royal Bay are mostly sold out. However, our second Palm property is seeing slightly weaker sales. Luxury product does not sell as quickly as projects in Al Furjan," Azizi points out.

In terms of costs, the Al Furjan projects are priced in the range of Dh900 per sqft and go up to Dh1,200 per sqft. On the Palm, Azizi's projects are priced upward of Dh2,000 per sqft. For its project in Healthcare City, the price ranges from Dh1,200 to Dh1,300 per sqft.

Besides 20 projects under construction, the developer also has 18 other developments in various stages of planning in Dubai. This includes plots in Jebel Ali, Dubai Sports City, Healthcare City and Meydan One.

In Healthcare City, Azizi has consolidated six plots into three and has one project currently under construction, the Azizi Aliyah.

Success strategy
"We have 4,300 units currently under construction. We launch so many projects because there is demand. If you build the right type of home in the right location at the right price, there will be demand," explains Azizi.

On how the developer is funding construction with so many off-plan launches, the CEO cites the sound financial credentials of the parent company Azizi Group, which runs several lines of businesses, including the second-largest commercial bank in Afghanistan.

"When a project is being planned, we make sure we are financially ready for it or we don't launch it. The land has to be paid in full and the escrow account cannot be accessed until we have reached 20 per cent of construction. There are also costs for marketing and initial mobilisation. We plan in such a way that if sales are not great, we still have to be able to continue with construction. We only focus on construction and this gives our customers satisfaction and, in turn, gets us referrals," says Azizi.

"We work with a lot of banks, but haven't taken loans from them. We haven't been putting ourselves in debt," he adds.

The developer recently signed a deal to develop 180 G+9 buildings in Meydan One. Azizi plans to consolidate the buildings and sales for the first phase of the 14,500 homes will be launched in June.

"It will primarily be mid-range housing but will also include penthouses and duplexes. Demand is coming from smaller families," says the senior executive.

Source markets
He adds that demand for affordable property has been strong from end-users from the GCC, India, Pakistan and the UK while luxury property has been evincing interest from second home buyers.

Upbeat on the company's 2016 sales figures, the Azizi top honcho said it was better than numbers in 2015. "For us, the market has been good and will only improve in 2018. With the world getting more protectionist, Dubai's appeal will only get better. Therefore, there will be natural demand."

Azizi also has a plot in Emirates City, Ajman. Although the plot was purchased a while ago, it will probably be developed next year. "We are in discussions on how to proceed with it. We have a mixed-use permit," says Azizi. The developer also has plans to purchase land in Abu Dhabi and develop it in 2018.

- deepthi@khaleejtimes.com