Property in Dubai

The Market: Castles in the sandProperty development continues at an immense rate in Dubai; there are an estimated 215 skyscrapers currently under construction, with a similar number due to start over the next two years (the Burj Tower, with 188 storeys, is set to be the highest).If the Dubai government meets its target of boosting its population to four million by 2015 from the current 1.3 million, then this glitzy United Arab Emirates hotspot will need every property it has to offer.Thanks to the two government-induced ‘off-shore’ developments – The Palm and The World – Dubai has a reputation for luxurious, highly-expensive property, fit only for the Beckhams of this world. But this is just one side of the story; off-plan apartments are still available below the £100,000 market and there are developments, such as the International City on the edge of the Dubailand theme park, that are aimed at the “affordable” end of the scale. More proof comes from Victoria Finch of Cluttons, who recently said that “people who used to buy in the Mediterranean are now buying in Dubai, and there are also people planning their retirement who want to spend six months in the sun”.The demand for property from the thousands of Western professionals working in Dubai – where your earnings are tax free – is also fuelling the boom in off-plan apartments; in the next four years an estimated 300,000 apartments will come onto the market. With this in mind, a popular investment area with strong rental potential is the Dubai Marina and particularly The Point and The Torch complexes, next door to Media City where Microsoft, Cisco, Reuters and CNN have offices. West of the city, moving away from the traditional expat areas of Jumeirah and Al Garhoud, on the north-eastern side of the Creek, is becoming the focus of much development.For the time being there is a relative shortage of apartments as investors wait for their homes to be completed. The general feeling is the party is over for those wishing to make a fast buck from selling on off-plan property