Knight Frank: 40% of Dubai office space empty
According to real estate broker Knight Frank LLP, about 40% of Dubai's office space is currently empty after the emirate's construction spree outpaced demand, Bloomberg has reported. Vacant office space totals 10 million square feet, the broker said. If developers meet current completion dates, total office space will double to about six million square metres by the end of 2011, according to research by broker Colliers International, which also put the vacancy rate at 40%. More »
Emaar to continue Egypt projects
Emaar, Dubai's largest listed real estate firm, has said it was committed to completing all projects it has previously announced in Egypt, Reuters has reported. 'Egypt is one of the key markets for Emaar, and we remain committed to completing all announced projects,' Emaar Misr said in a statement. The developer's projects in Egypt include Uptown Cairo, Mivida and Marassi. More »
Debt crisis to erode Dubai housing prices
Property prices in Dubai are likely to see further decline amid concerns over the availability of finance, Reuters has reported, citing analysts. 'The news plays on investor psyche and house prices may slide a further 20%-30% earlier than our existing view of second half of 2011,' Saud Masud, UBS' head of research and senior real estate analyst said. Similarly, Nicolas Maclean, managing director of CB Richard Ellis said uncertainty over Nakheel's liabilities will impact the developer's property pricing, but will only have a knock-on short-term effect for property by unrelated developers. More »
Samsung halts Dubai bridge work amidst Dubai debt crisis
Samsung C&T Corp. has said it has stopped work on a $350m bridge linking Dubai to the man-made Palm Jebel Ali island, after Nakheel halted payments for two months, Bloomberg has reported. Dubai is the biggest overseas market for Korean builders. More »
Abu Dhabi to curb housing construction
Abu Dhabi plans to limit construction of new properties in the emirate to avoid the housing oversupply and price declines that slammed the real estate market in neighboring Dubai, Aldar Properties CEO John Bullough told Bloomberg. The Emirate has a shortage of 15,000 to 20,000 units and the government will let the 'rope out on development in a measured way,' Bullough said. 'There will be, in our view, a lag between supply and demand.' More »
Damac awards construction tender
Dubai-based developer Damac Properties has awarded Dar for Trading & Construction (DETAC) the construction contract for Park Avenue, Cairo-Alex Desert Road. The project consists of 723 retail units and 454 office spaces, as well as parking which will serve a total of 3,000 cars. DETAC is expected to deliver the project in 18 months, the company said in a statement. More »
Emaar cancels deal with City Cool
Emaar Economic City, the Saudi-based affiliate of Dubai's Emaar Properties, has said it has cancelled a SR650m agreement with UAE-based City Cool, but has not given a reason for the move, Reuters has reported. City Cool was meant to own and operate two cooling stations for 25 years at the King Abdullah Economic City, the developer said in a statement. More »
Christian Lacroix to design new Dubai tower
Kuwait-based Abyaar Real Estate Development Co has partnered with French fashion designer firm Christian Lacroix to establish a residential tower in Dubai. The 38-unit, coastal Jumeirah-based tower will incorporate a Lacroix-designed facade, expansive lobby and luxury interiors. 'We approached Lacroix because he is known for his exceptional design skills and theatrical style, both on and off the catwalk,' the developer said in a statement. More »
Orascom's Q3 profit down 41%
Egypt's largest publicly traded builder, Orascom Construction Industries, has reported a 41% fall in third-quarter net profit to $120.7m, Bloomberg has reported. Revenue from continued operations dropped to $933.4m from $991.9m a year earlier, OCI said. The company won construction projects totaling about $710m during the quarter, bringing the value of new contracts in the first nine months to $2.81bn. More »
Iraq to allow foreigners to own land
The Iraqi parliament has passed an investment law which would allow foreigners to own land for housing projects, Reuters has reported. Iraq's old real estate laws only allowed the lease of land to foreign investors for a limited time. More »
Dubai begins inspection of unregistered brokerages
Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), in co-operation with the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), has started inspecting real estate brokerage firms that are not registered with RERA, Emirates Business has reported. The inspections will cover offices that practice real estate activities and licensed by free zones in Dubai. More »
Tulip ready for 2010 Jumeirah Golf Estates handover
Dubai-based Tulip has said that 60% of the construction of its two residential developments in Jumeirah Golf Estates - Olive Point and Sienna Lakes - is complete and that it is gearing up to offer the projects for occupancy next year. The two projects will offer 111 villas to investors. More »
Emaar merger talks 'done in one month'
Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of the Dubai-based developer, Emaar Properties has said he expects 'technical talks' for the planned merger with state-owned developers Dubai Properties, Sama Dubai, and leisure developer Tatweer, to be concluded within a month, Reuters has reported. The new firm will announce new projects after the merger, he said. 'We have finished the design of some projects. Once the merger is concluded they would be launched.' More »
Emaar India unit plans to sell shares
Emaar Properties has announced plans an initial share offering in India, Bloomberg has reported. The New Delhi-based Emaar MGF Land Ltd. is planning to raise $800m in a public offering. Emaar Chairman Mohammed Alabbar has said during an interview at the World Economic Forum, India's solid banking system and conservative environment suits the company's plans well. The planned offering will be issued in a few weeks. More »
Tamweel-Amlak merger to complete by early 2010
The merger between mortgage lenders Amlak and Tamweel is expected to be completed by first quarter of next quarter of next year, according to news reports. According to Tamweel Chairman Shaikh Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an extraordinary assembly will be held to announce recommendation of the government body that was created to look into all the aspects of the mandated merger. More »
Drake + Scull buys German group
Dubai-based contractor Drake and Scull International has said it has acquired an 82% stake in Germany's Passavant-Roediger in a Dhs145m deal. The remaining 18% will remain with Bilfinger Berger, a publically listed German firm internationally active in construction services. Passavant-Roediger, a global developer of wastewater, water and sludge treatment technologies, has projects around the world including Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia. The company's current backlog stands at over Dhs450m. More »
Dubai house prices 'to drop 30% further'
According to Swiss global financial services firm, UBS, Dubai home prices may drop as much as 30% more and could take at least a decade to recover, Bloomberg has reported. Increasing supply and a shrinking population will leave 25% of the emirate's houses empty in 2010, a UBS analyst said. The report is in contrast to a Deutsche Bank report this month that said the market is "bottoming out" with slowing price declines and an increase in transactions. More »
Fortune Group to use own equity to fund projects
Dubai-based developer, Fortune Group has said that due to defaults by customers the firm will use its own equity to complete the Fortune Executive Tower in Jumeirah Lake Towers, Emirates Business has reported. 'While the money keeps on rotating from one project to another, our payments are never made and the defaulters continue to hold on to the units as well. We have faced this problem with Fortune Executive Tower and have decided to pump in personal equity to complete the project.' Syed Mohammad Ali, CEO of Fortune Group said. The group's current investments in Dubai's real estate market are valued at over Dhs12bn across 21 commercial and residential projects. The developer confirmed that its Burj Al Alam project will be completed. More »
Barwa names Bouygues as Financial District contractor
Qatar's Barwa Real Estate has selected French infrastructure company, Bouygues SA, to build Barwa's QR4.75bn ($1.3bn) real estate project in Doha. The 500,000 sqm Financial District will include a 50 storey tower, conference centre, hotel, retail mall and public plaza, and is scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2013. More »
Ezdan Village units rolled out
Qatar-based developer Ezdan Real Estate has started delivering housing units in Ezdan 3 Village in Wakra, the Peninsula has reported. The project contains a number of villas and furnished apartments for rent in addition to a billiards hall, gymnasium complex, tennis playground, parks, green spaces, swimming pool, auditorium, mosque, supermarket. More »
Dubai Properties Group ups leasing portfolio
Dubai Properties Group (DPG) has brought online units in the Layan development for leasing. Layan includes 414 villas from Dhs100,000 for two bedrooms and 144 apartments from Dhs65,000 for two bedrooms. DPG has said that promotional rates are available for a limited time period. More »
Union Properties posts Q3 loss
Dubai developer Union Properties has posted a third-quarter loss of Dhs152.3m ($41m), compared to a profit of Dhs224.7m in the year-earlier period, Bloomberg has reported. Revenue for the quarter increased 70% to Dhs1.3bn, while costs jumped 57% to Dhs1.08bn. The developer is restructuring Dhs956m of short- term debt into longer-term facilities. More »
Abyaar posts profit for Q3
Abyaar posts profit for Q3 09 Kuwait-based developer Abyaar Real Estate Development has posted a KD5m profit for the first nine months of 2009. The firm also paid close to 45% of its total obligations, reducing financing debt by 30% to KD77m, compared to KD108m during the same period of 2008. Chairman Hesham Abdul Wahab Al Obeid said the company's aim is to complete current projects including Acacia Villas within the Acacia Avenues project in Dubai. It has also put out a tender for the completion of Olgana Tower within Acacia Avenues and expects to sifn a contract by the end of this year. More »
Podium structure completed at Hydra Avenue
Abu Dhabi master developer Hydra Properties has completed the podium construction of its flagship development Hydra Avenue on Reem Island. The completion is ahead of schedule and the company said development work is on track for the next milestone in April 2010, the 50% structure completion of towers C4, C5 and C6. Hydra Avenue is made up of six towers, each between 24 and 29 storeys in height. More »
First Dubai posts Q3 losses
Real estate firm First Dubai has posted a Dhs118m loss for the first nine months of this year. The developer incurred unrealised losses of Dhs208.5m in the third quarter, although shareholders' rights were not affected, as these losses were recorded in the cumulative change in fair value of investments available for sale within equity. First Dubai projects include The Villas and Queue Point in Dubailand. More »