Dubai’s Danube Properties says 85% of Dhs 300m Ritz project sold out

Dubai developer Danube Properties confirmed that it has sold out 85 per cent of its Dhs 300m Ritz project in the emirate despite the current market slowdown.

Located at the Al Furjan area in Jebel Ali, the project offers 450 fully furnished apartments including 180 studios, 135 one-bedroom and 135 two-bedroom units.

Amenities include a health club, sauna and steam rooms, tennis court, basket ball court, party hall and car parking.

Prices of the studio units start at Dhs 430,000, with a 1 per cent monthly payment plan.

The developer also sold out its earlier projects – Glitz I, II and III and Dreamz by Danube – all launched within the last 18 months, it said.

All the projects are currently under construction.

“Our experience over the last one and a half years of project launches strengthened our conviction that if you have the right project at the right location and offer them to customers at a convenient payment plan, you can’t go wrong – despite market conditions,” said founder chairman of Danube Group Rizwan Sajan.

“There isn’t any shortage of buyers, you just need to make the product appealing to them.”

Danube has partnered with a European solutions provider to install specially made modular furniture in the new project.

“Our fully-furnished package deal that comes with the home reduces the extra burden of looking for matching furniture and amenities,” said Sajan.

“With Ritz, we are offering a ‘one-stop’ home services so that the home owner can walk in to the new home to use everything straight away.”

The Ritz is Danube Properties third major project after Dreamz and the Glitz trio – and takes the total value of the group’s real estate portfolio to Dhs 1.5bn.

Dubai’s property market has softened in the last year, with prices down between 10 to 15 per cent.

However, the company said its new offerings were targeted at families with household incomes of Dhs 15,000- Dhs 25,000 who could potentially move from rented homes to owned units.

“With property prices coming down to a more realistic level that are becoming attractive to the end-users, we see the possibility of a large-scale migration to home ownership, from rental homes,” explained Sajan.

“They can insulate themselves from the rent-related inflation that might eat into their savings by the time Expo 2020 rush creeps in.”

He also asserted that Dubai’s real estate market was fundamentally strong and that the emirate’s population growth entailed the need for additional homes.

“The emirate will need 18,000 new homes per year for the next five years to accommodate the 1.8 million new consumers, all of whom will need accommodation. The current supply of 12,000-13,000 per annum falls well below the anticipated demand.”

He added: “When it comes to investment in Dubai’s real estate, there could not have been a better time to buy. However, buyers need to look at the project, location, pricing, payment plan and the developer’s credibility and commitment.”