Dubai: The first set of property launches in Dubai this year is definitely skewing towards the bigger and pricier.
Sobha Group on Wednesday (January 18) released the first phase of 27 homes at its Hartland development in MBR (Mohammad Bin Rashid) City, with the four-bedroom units spanning 3,300 square feet. Prices range from Dh5.3 million to Dh5.6 million, with a split payment allowing 50 per cent to be paid during construction, 10 per cent on handover and the rest over a further two-year period.
These properties will also have proximity to the Dubai Water Canal as a factor.
The launch of “Quad Homes” — where the developer places a premium on greenery and natural light — comes just days after Dubai Properties released the second phase of large-format homes at its Villanova community in Dubailand.
After a surfeit of mid-market launches in the second-half of 2016, Dubai’s developers are serving up a mix of high-end apartments as well. And the belief — quite a strong one at that — is investors and end users will find reason to come in.
“We wanted to start 2017 by creating something commensurate with the Sobha Hartland profile,” said Raj Chinai, Managing Director at Sobha Group. “With Quad Homes we achieved that.”
There will be a second phase, where the number of units will be 53. The three-level homes will come with private lifts. The first phase is set for delivery in December 2018.
Delivery
Quad Homes on its own will occupy 2.4 million square feet out of the 8 million square feet falling within the wider Hartland. The Phase 1 apartments at Hartland are due for delivery by year-end and the first villas by late 2018.
“We have plans in place for a hospitality offering, one school has opened and another will do so,” said Chinai. “There are many components to Hartland — for instance, there are plots which we could either build ourselves or sell. There will be commercial and retail — but a lot of the decisions around these are in fluid phase.
“The key focus for us is provide features to make investors comfortable about being in residential communities.”
Within MBR City, Sobha is working on another project in a joint venture with the master-developer Meydan, on a 1,100-acre canvas. This will include super-luxury villas (1,500 of them) and mansions (numbering 100). The first handovers will be this year. The project also includes a Crystal Lagoon.
There are other “districts” at MBR City that developers could take on with their own announcements this year. Those who have existing projects are making headway and Meydan has reached key milestones with its portfolio. The next big announcement could pertain to the Meydan One mall development.
As for Sobha, it is still working on the pre-launch details for an “affordable luxury” projects in Dubai. “We have a lot of clarity on that and how to take up such an offering,” said Chinai. He added there are no new updates on the status of its involvement in a massive mixed-use development in Umm Al Quwain.
“The location is beautiful and we are still in the detailing stage,” he added.
