Dubai

November 10, 2008 by Elizabeth Barker

Why Dubai? Dubai is experiencing a real estate boom with native residents and overseas investors purchasing properties as fast as they are available for sale. Even as most of its projects and developments are not completed, Dubai has emerged as one of the most desirable places to live in the world.

Upcoming projects include Dubailand which is a $20 billion dollar theme park resort that will cover some 3 billion square feet, almost twice the size of Disneyland; and the Dubai water front, the largest man made development in the word, set to be several times larger than Manhattan. [1]

Life in Dubai Expatriates and visitors, men and women, all enjoy an easygoing lifestyle in Dubai. Crime is almost nonexistent. Dubai is one of the world’s cleanest cities, and the country offers every modern luxury one could desire. The climate is surprisingly tolerable, and pleasant more the majority of the year. Dubai is the Middle East equivalent of Asia’s Hong Kong. The city is overflowing with a wide range of restaurants, shops for days, and enough culture to satisfy your palate. The city literally oozes with wealth, which attracts top notch shopping, industry, culture and cuisine. The city is a top destination for ‘shopping tourists’ who visit from as far as Eastern Europe and Africa. Dubai is an open port with very low import duties. Their retail prices are extremely low. Visitors will find that high priced brand-name products are cheaper in Dubai than in the countries where they are manufactured as Dubai is a tax-free country.

Real Estate Options Currently, there are an abundance of real estate options for potential investors. Dubai offers everything from studio apartments, condominiums, town homes, apartments, and individual villas. The Dubai market is currently flooded with condominium and town house options that offer on site management and collective property services and amenities. All of the condominium communities have easy access to casinos, recreational areas and theme parks. Savvy commercial and individual investors view Dubai property as a prime real estate location to increase their investment portfolios as they offer more promising returns than their respective home countries.

Real Estate Market The government’s decision to diversify from a trade-based, but oil-reliant, economy to one that is service and tourism-oriented has made real estate more valuable, resulting in the property appreciation from 2004-2007. [2] Large scale real estate development projects have led to the construction of some of the tallest skyscrapers and largest projects in the world such as the Emirates Towers, the Burj Dubai, the Palm Islands and the world’s tallest, and most expensive, hotel the Burj Al Arab. [3]

Tax Considerations Dubai imposes not income or capital gains tax on its residents, or businesses. Add to this 100% ownership in free zones, enticing investor incentives and government protections and Dubai emerges as a highly appealing place to buy, conduct business and live. [4]

Crime Rate It is a well-known fact that Dubai is one of the safest places in the world to live in. Crime levels are very low with offences against another person and theft kept to the lowest possible levels by a vigilant police force and only 1.7% of the population is currently unemployed. [5]

Location Dubai is one of the seven emirates and most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. [6] The emirate of Dubai shares borders with Abu Dhabi in the south, Sharjah in the northeast, and the Sultanate of Oman in the southeast. [7]

Climate The climate attracts tourists year round, and makes it a great place to invest. Dubai has a sub-tropical, arid climate. They enjoy sunny, blue skies for most of the year. Rainfall is minimal, and falls mainly in during the winter months.

Language Arabic is the official language of Dubai, but English is widely spoken by the majority of the residents. English is the official language of business. Other languages are widely spoken throughout Dubai including: Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, Malayalam, Urdu, Persian, Tagalog, and Bengali. [8]

Landscape Dubai boasts breathtaking architecture and a beautiful landscape. The Palm islands and the Star Burj al Arab hotel are architectural monuments, which defy and push the limits of manmade structures. Downtown Dubai is home to what will be the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai. [9]

Demographics The current population of Dubai is 1.7 million and expected to increase 3.5 million by 2010. [10] About 3% of the total population of Dubai is categorized as “Western.” [11] Dubai is a diverse city with over 100 different nationalities existing in harmony within the city.

Communications Dubai has a well-established network of print, radio, television and electronic media, which service the city. Dubai offers many international channels through cable, satellite, radio and local channels. Many international news agencies such as Reuters, APTN, Bloomberg and MBC as well as network news channels operated out of Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City. [12]

Technology As it attracts visitors and businesses from all over the world, Dubai offers all of the latest technology. High speed Internet was introduced into Dubai in 1995.

Hotel and Resorts Dubai has emerged as a leader in the Hotel and Resort industry. Dubai is home to the only 7 Star resort in the world and 5 star hotels are in ample supply. Dubai has been named the resort capital of the world by travels and critics alike.

Education Dubai has 88 public schools that are operated by the Ministry of Education and 132 private schools. [13] Public schools teach in Arabic, with English as a second language. Private schools teach primarily in English. Approximately 10% of the population has university or postgraduate degrees. [14] Many expatriates tend to send their children outside of Dubai or to Western countries for university education. A fair number of foreign accredited universities have been set up in the city over the last 10 years. Some of these universities include: Michigan State University Dubai, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Medical School Dubai Center. [15]

Religion Dubai has large Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh and other religious communities. Non-Muslim groups can own their own houses of worship, where they can practice their religion freely, by requesting a land grant and permission to build a compound. Non-Muslim religious groups are permitted to openly advertise group functions.

Economy As it is directly linked to the US economy. Dubai possesses a stability that other Middle Eastern countries do not. Dubai has achieved GDP growth of 8% for the last 10 years and is currently regarded as the world’s fastest developing city. [16] Dubai’s main source of revenue comes from trade, real estate and financial services. Less than 6% of Dubai’s revenues derive from petroleum and natural gas. [17] Due to its innovative real estate projects, Dubai has attracted worldwide attention. This increased attention has contributed to Dubai emerging as a world business hub.

Western Influences Both Hollywood and Bollywood moves are popular in Dubai. The city hosts the annual Dubai International Film Festival, which attracts celebrities from Arab and International cinema. Dubai has an active music scene, with musicians Amr Diab, Diana Haddad, Tarkan, Aerosmith, Santana, Elton John, Pink, Shakira, Celine Dion and Phil Collins having performed in the city. [18] Madonna is rumored to play live in November 2008 for ₤7.5 million. [19] Dubai is host to professional sports events such as football, golf, horse racing and tennis. The New York Times listed Dubai as its travel choice for partying in 2008.[20]

Banking System The UAE banks are committed to developing a competitive mortgage market. Applicants are required to show proof of income and personal bank statements. The amount awarded for the loan is based on your net monthly income. Depending on valuation or purchases price of property (the lowest), you can borrow up to 60% of the value for purchase. [21] Loans are available for people up to the age of 60 at the end of the loan term. [22]

Ownership rights for non-citizens In 2002, Dubai was the first among Arab Gulf countries to permit real estate ownership by non-citizens. Real Estate in Dubai is currently on the upswing. The government is constantly refining and simplifying laws to make the sale of property to foreign investors an easy process. With the recent increase in rental rates, buying property in the country is a better alternative than renting.

If Dubai seems like the right community for you, take the next step by researching the properties we have available in the area. We have properties to fit every lifestyle and budget.

Resources

[1] www.realtyna.com/dubai_real_estate Retrieved on 2008-10-09

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai Retrieved on 2008-10-09

[5] http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/UAE.pdf

[6] http://www.world-gazetteer.com Retrieved on 2008-10-09

[8] http://www.uae.hsbc.com Retrieved on 2008-10-09

[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai Retrieved on 2008-10-09

[13] http://vgn.dm.gov.ae/DMEGOV/OSI/webreports/Fig4.pdf

[14] http://vgn.dm.gov.ae/DMEGOV/OSI/webreports/Fig4.pdf

[15] http://vgn.dm.gov.ae/DMEGOV/OSI/webreports/Fig4.pdf

[16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai Retrieved on 2008-10-09

[17] http://www.ameinfo.com/122863.html Retrieved on 2008-10-09