dylan71

UK CIG has ready apartment at Ritaj in Dubai Investment Park for which they have affordable payment plans which turns out to be better that renting....and direct from developer.
http://www.ukcigreb.com/ritaj/

What are your thoughts about owning rather than renting? Is the market good for this?

soukie

Are you moving here or just trying to sell us something we don't want?

distinctiveflair

They look boring

kittycat1

I would invest my money in a country where you have a few more rights just in case anything ever goes wrong!

Tim Crowe

While we have done some work as consultants for the developer of Ritaj, I think that if you take a long term view buying an apartment may be a good option.

Of course it all depends on the price, but at the bottom of the market at todays prices you can still get a reasonable rental return on Ritaj. So as an owner occupier you will save a good chunk on not paying rent.
With easy access to Jebel Ali Free Zone, and Dubai WOrld Central as well as Dubai Investments Park, it has a potential when the market picks up.

BurpusMe

There are many more desirable areas to look at which are also distressed right now. Why look at this one?

It's far from financial centre, schools, malls, golf, beaches and everything else. It's also in the flight path of DWC, one of the worlds largest cargo airports. Even when the market picks up, the above will still be true.
Avoid.

Ethos83

There's no guarantee that the market has already bottomed out. We could still be in for prolonged period of steadily declining prices.

Ownership in DXB is expensive because in addition to the mortgage you also have to pay building service charges, which are quite high. Legally they cannot be passed along to your tenants.

Plus the legality of ownership in the UAE is questionable and revokable at any time on the whims of the rulers.

Tim Crowe

Few investments can ever be guaranteed but the indications suggest that the market has bottomed out as few sellers now want to drop their prices. What I did say was for the longer term the indications were better.

For Ritaj, I expect the service charges to be lower than many other developments, but the level will be set by the unit owners in General Assembly

Laws in any country can be changed, but the momentum in Dubai is providing more security for property owners rather than less.

TGFKASE

No seller wants to drop their price. The fact that there will always be someone desperate enough to drop will continue to drive prices down...

And, living in Sports City, I have to say that DIP is one massive labour camp. If I were stupid enough to want to purchase an apartment in Dubai, the last place I would be looking at would be DIP... Hell, Id buy in International Shitty before DIP

Ethos83

And there are few people buying....

typical

The market will not bottom out when sellers no longer want to drop their prices, but when all those that have to drop their prices have done so.

BurpusMe

The market will indeed hit a low, and likely stagnate for years before growing.

To achieve growth – Dubai needs influx of residents, investors, and regional money.

To attract this investment – Dubai needs better regulation of condo maintenance/corporations...
More liquidity, more flexible lending terms...
Better handling of debt (bankruptcy)...
Better sponsorship regime...

Once a few of those factors come into play, we'll see a slow recovery to realistic (2004) prices, and perhaps better in more desirable areas like Downtown and nicer Marina units.

Dubai has a great future ahead of it. Later.

twisty100

Never heard so much bull in my life.

Tim Crowe

While I do not want to exagerate the growth prospects, many of the conditions mentioned by Burpus are here;
Influx of residents -yes evidenced by the growth of the school sector as well as government statistics
better regulation of condo maintenance/corporations... yes see laws on Owners Associaiton management that give the powers to manage their developments to unit owners and define information that must be provided to buyers
More liquidity - banks have started lending for home mortgages again.

In 1998 we had prophecies of doom when the real estate market bubble popped, yet within a couple of years it was booming again. There will not be the boom of 2005-8, but it is not unreasonable to expect decent returns in 3-5 years

Ethos83

Influx of residents -yes evidenced by the 'growth of the school sector' as well as 'government statistics'

Lord.

The expat population of DXB has shrunk. It would be foolish to argue otherwise. Talking about growth of school sector doesn't mean squat when much of the leaving expat population is being replaced by local kids whose parents are opting out of the very mediocre state school sector.

'government statistics' - Does anyone here actually believe a word that is said by the Dubai municipality and even the UAE government? This is a place that refuses to acknowledge bad news. During the entire real estate collapse prominent Dubai and UAE officials were publically saying rents would never go down, things were fantastic, companies were still hiring - whilst the reality was quite the opposite.

It is rare for things to dramatically change overnight - the dust takes time to settle. We're now beginning to see the full effect of the late 2008-09 collapse - a year later. People are still leaving Dubai. Companies are still laying off people. The city is still in massive debt.