Gulf News: Sharjah freehold can expect another upbeat year
News: 2 October 2018
Arada CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi explains why buyer momentum still remains strong in the Emirate
Gulf News: 2 October, 2018
Arada CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi explains why buyer momentum still remains strong in the Emirate Dubai: Getting late into the freehold game is working to Sharjah’s advantage. Developers there had a rollicking time with offplan sales last year and that momentum has continued through this year.
“From a real estate investor standpoint, Sharjah was a bit of a forgotten city – but the piece of legislation that allowed all nationalities to buy (on freehold/long-term leasehold) has brought it into the spotlight,” said Ahmad Alkhoshaibi, CEO at Arada, developer of the Dh24 billion “Aljada” mixed-use community.
“Because of that, I don’t see any slowing down in freehold sales happening this quarter or in the next year in Sharjah. In fact, more developers are likely to come in and offer freehold, and that would mark a significant lift in quality, urban planning standards, etc. So, those investors who were waiting to gauge how Sharjah real estate can perform will start coming in now.”
And the pricing, of course, will be a factor. For the price-conscious investor, Sharjah is emerging as a happening place in terms of cost of entry and the future return on their investments. Throw into the mix better planned projects and quality of build, Sharjah can tick off quite a few boxes.
At Aljada, Arada has sold about 1,450 apartments since September last year, with prices starting from Dh279,000 for a studio. In the next 12 months, the target is to add another 2,000 units to the sold list. (At Cityscape, it is releasing townhouses priced between Dh1.2 million to Dh1.6 million.) It’s not just the properties alone that are going to attract investors to Aljada. The project’s Central Hub – which will occupy 1.9 million square feet – is being designed by the late Zaha Hadid’s firm. The design has been done, with the exact centre of the 24 million square feet development to feature a 100-metre tall observation deck with a mix of F&B options.
Read the full article in Gulf News
