Watch: Potential buyers queue up to get townhouses in Dubai

Dubai - Long queues to buy real estate signal sector's return to pre-Covid pandemic levels.

Potential buyers are queuing up to get a slice of Dubai’s lucrative real estate, illustrating how the sector is bouncing back to pre-Covid pandemic levels.

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Photos and videos posted on social media on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning showed long lines of people looking to bag a deal as master developer Nakheel launched 360 units as part of phase 2 of Murooj Al Furjan West. The new collection of townhouses in Al Furjan master community has three- and four-bed units for a starting price of Dh1.85 million.

Long queues to buy property in Dubai is a nostalgic pre-pandemic feature and one of the barometers of market confidence.

Nakheel told Khaleej Times in a statement that it had taken all precautions and applied the highest standards of hygiene to keep customers and staff safe. This included a “large, dedicated waiting area”.

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“Safety and wellbeing is always our top priority,” the statement added.

Marwa, a property consultant, said she expected the buyers to queue up till all units are sold out.

Farooq Syed, CEO of Springfield Properties, said Nakheel has seen an “excellent response” to its latest launch. “Ready townhouse prices have moved up extremely fast post-Covid as people prefer the extra square footage and communal lifestyle as compared to living in tall vertical structures. Moreover, Nakheel is (among the few) … developers launching townhouses close to the Sheikh Zayed Road.”

He added that the townhouses have good plot sizes and built up areas as compared to others available in the market.

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Fathi Akram Skaik, managing director and business owner of Noble Empire Real Estate Brokers, said phase one of the project had sold out “within hours”.

“The newly launched project is proof that there is still a big demand in the market for townhouses. I think that we will still see a demand for townhouses and small standalone villas in the coming future,” added Skaik.

Expo 2020 Dubai, which begins in just over 20 days, will bring in a lot of international investments, said Krishma Gehani, senior client manager, Homes4Life Real Estate. This will go up further with five- and 10-year Golden Visas being given to property owners, she said.

(With inputs from Waheed Abbas and SM Ayaz Zakir)

sandhya@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai