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With plans to deliver 42 projects by the end of this year, Dubai-based Azizi Developments has lined up mega launches as it looks to capitalise on the recent surge in the property market.
The property developer recently acquired a prime plot along Sheikh Zayed Road wants to up the game with the launch of “the most promising building in the world”.
“We are at the outset of a pronounced upward trajectory,” said Farhad Azizi, CEO of Azizi Developments, backing his assertion with data from the Dubai Land Department that indicates a resurgence in property demand.
According to Mo’asher August data, Dubai recorded the highest sales transactions worth 24.34 billion UAE dirhams in 10 years in August 2022. Registered transactions of September reached 8,649 worth 24.417 billion dirhams, representing a 52 percent increase in terms of volume and 51.66 percent in terms of value year-on-year. The performance was the highest for the month of September over the last 12 years.
“Demand is currently sky-rocketing across all the property segments,” said Azizi.
The developer’s 300-million-dirham Creek Views I in Dubai Healthcare City, comprising 634 units and 33,341 square feet of premium retail space was delivered in August. The projects handed over this year include 40 buildings in the megaproject Riviera in MBR City, seven of which were already completed.
“These handovers not only excite our valued clients and build trust, but with them being nearly fully sold out, they also speak for the need and demand for further unique projects to be launched,” said Azizi.
The company is already well on its way to delivering 42 of its projects, comprising 8,895 units, this year, in 2022. Over 2.29 million square feet of the built-up area was completed.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve launched Rêve, the fourth and most luxurious 24-building phase of Riviera in MBR City, Beachfront in Riviera, as well as Beach Oasis in Studio City,” revealed Azizi.
Among the several launches is the ‘game changer’ project for which the company has purchased a very central prime plot on Sheikh Zayed Road. “This project will catapult Azizi to new heights quite literally and will be a unique landmark with significance not just in the UAE but globally,” claimed Azizi.
Beyond 2023, up until 2025, the company has plans to launch and deliver another 100+ projects worth several billion dollars, “through our strategic partnerships with Dubai’s key master developers, which grant us an extensive land bank that we can choose to acquire and develop.”
Catalysing development
Azizi’s confidence in his company’s ability to capitalize on the thriving market stems from its own transformed business model.
From a mere coordinator and controlling point between stakeholders to a full-cycle developer, Azizi Development believes the transformation has given it a “greater control over construction”. And it has made its involvement more “profound” by “developing projects with smaller, closely knit, trusted circles”.
This has helped it “focus increasingly on construction and quality” and “adhere to timelines” earning favourable word-of-mouth recommendations.
“Our timely deliveries can certainly be attributed to us announcing completion dates more realistically, us working exclusively with the best contractors, and us sourcing construction materials ourselves,” said Azizi, underlining how its full-cycle business model helps the company negotiate an eminent place in the surging market.
Azizi is also encouraged by the measures undertaken by local banks.
“While increasing interest rates are generally said to make property purchases more costly, as mortgages are becoming more expensive, UAE banks offer plenty of solutions,” the CEO said.
He cited the example of UAE banks that have started offering long-term fixed rates on mortgages from 3.5 percent for a period of up to five years.
“Interest rates can be locked in for a set number of years,” he explained. Thus, investors who would otherwise postpone purchase apprehending an increase in mortgage rates are actually purchasing early with fixed interest rates.
Emirates prods
Azizi pointed out that Dubai is a hyper-connected pro-business global trade corridor that enjoys the emirates' robust economic and legal policies.
He said the initiatives like the Expo 2020 have “opened the eyes of the world” to the dynamic opportunities in Dubai. The bourgeoning population, partially driven by a fresh wave of post-pandemic migration, a large influx of high and ultra-high-net-worth investors and tenants switching from renting to ownership, are all adding value to Dubai’s property market.
Post-pandemic, the emirate continues to stimulate the property market with varied initiatives that have kept the sector stable. Even during the pandemic, Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster had exempted the sector from the lockdown restriction as the sector was pivotal to the UAE’s economy, recalls Azizi.
“Azizi Development, among others, had received special permits from the government that allowed us to work on some projects 24/7.”
He pointed out that the cost per square metre of residences in Dubai has increased by 15.5 percnt this year alone. “Based on this, industry experts are now forecasting that 2022’s results will far surpass those of 2021.”
(Reporting by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)
