Dubai: from €150,000: Apartments, townhouses and villas costing from €150,000 to €425,000-plus are for sale in a new resort in the Persian Gulf. Kate McMorrow reports
Dream City, an off-shore residential resort in the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain, just 40 km from Dubai along a new stretch of road, is well-placed to benefit from the tourist boom in this exotic region.
And now a mix of properties is available through Irish property investment company Capital Eyes.
The resort will spring up on a coastal stretch owned by the International Development Management group (IMD) owned by businessmen Arif Al Abbar and Ihab Ayoub.
Dream City's project management team from City Holdings is led by Irish principal Phillip Lloyd. Chris Follenus of Capital Eyes will be handling sales.
When finished, Dream City will form the shape of an eye, with the residential element on giant eyelashes extending out into the Persian Gulf. Villas at Dream City start at €425,000 for around 371 sq m (4,000 sq ft) of accommodation. Townhouses start at €200,000, while one and two-bedroom apartments start at €150,000.
Amenities will include five-star hotels, a sports park, race-track, equestrian centre, polo and flying clubs, a marine and yacht club. Shopping malls and facilities for children are also planned. A limousine service will ferry owners from the airport to the complex and plans are afoot to set up a ferry service to and from Dubai.
One of the "happening" places to buy property these days, Dubai has the edge when it comes to wealth, architecture and sheer unadulterated glamour. It's a melting pot of cultures, with Islamic customs predominating and the muezzin's call to prayer as comfortingly familiar as the Angelus to the many Irish expats who live and work here.
Indian migrant workers in their colourful saris mingle with Arab men in full Bedouin regalia and women in head-to-toe black robes, the latter often designed by Gucci or Ferragamo. Westerners follow a casual dress code, with trousers and long skirts the order of the day. Aside from the sweltering summer months, the climate is just about perfect.
With oil reserves drying up, Dubai's ruling families have diversified into tourism, property and banking in recent years, turning their tiny emirate into the most progressive state in the middle east.
Neighbouring emirates Sharjah and Umm Al Quain are following suit, although Sharjah's strict no alcohol rule is something of a deterrent to the average fun-seeking tourist.
The world's first seven-star hotel, the Burj Al Arab, stretches out into the sea at Jumeirah near the famous Palm Island development, which has been sold several times over by canny early investors.
Signs of the property boom are everywhere, with cranes lighting up the night sky and advertising hoardings at every turn. One company is offering a Porsche with each penthouse bought.
In Dubai, residency permits are only granted to employed foreigners, crime is low and poverty almost non-existent. With just one main road leading into and out of the city, Dubai is approaching gridlock and more roads are urgently required.
The Irish are here in numbers in the building trade, education and business. The recent world tennis tournament was held in the Aviation Club, a complex managed by Colm McLaughlin of Dubai Duty Free and which includes the Irish Village, one of the most popular meeting places in Dubai.
With the view that there is little profit now to be made in Dubai because of rising property prices, Irish investors have been buying quietly into Dream City, attracted by the security of its royal owner and the top class amenities planned here.
Profits to be made in a get-in-and-out arrangement are another incentive - most buyers so far are multiple purchasers who intend selling on at a profit before completion. One Irish buyer has reserved 10 villas at Dream City so far and is considering reserving more.
While many expat residents have already bought in and around Dubai and overseas property investment is booming, cautious investors are raising understandable questions about security of ownership and safety when buying anywhere in the volatile Middle East region.
On one hand, Dubai's economy is stable, with low inflation and a diversified economy that is not oil dependent. Rent yields are high, although this may slow down when the apartments being built in the current construction boom become available.
The ultra-modern airport handled almost 14 million visitors from over 140 destinations in 2001 and tourism has mushroomed since then. Banks in Dubai are awash with money placed here for safe-keeping from depositors in other Middle Eastern countries - a comfort factor that should ensure the stability of the UAE, say many investors.
The question on everyone's lips is the conundrum of what constitutes freehold ownership in the UAE. The ability of foreigners to buy property here is a new concept and it is only recently that owners have been able to register selected properties which are not off-shore.
While this is a considerable advance and rulers are committed to encouraging overseas investment, they rule by decree and decisions can be changed overnight on, say, the whim of a new ruler.
That said, the current climate is more than positive for buyers and profits are undoubtedly being made. The old maxim of never investing more than you can afford to lose is a good one to follow here.
