The “Expo City” is quickly turning into the preferred location for purchasers looking for affordable properties in Dubai.
Expo City, Dubai’s newest off-plan option, which had its initial release in March, is actually already in competition with Al Furjan and Jumeirah Village Circle for these investors. For instance, at Expo City’s Mangrove Residences, a one-bedroom unit is priced at Dh1.39-Dh1.59 million, while a two-bedroom unit costs Dh2.05 million to Dh2.55 million.
Five years of the seven-year payment arrangements for buyers are post-handover.
“Expo City home prices to date are yet to see the heavy mark-ups that most locations elsewhere in Dubai have been seeing,” said an estate agent. “These are direct from the developer, have the proximity to the major legacy attractions of the Expo, and Expo City itself is being heavily promoted as Dubai’s newest place to live and work.
“The Mangrove Residences is a taster of what the location can offer later. Future releases will see that premium added.”
The master developer has also introduced the ‘Expo Valley’ with its 3-/4-bedroom townhomes and 4-/5-bedroom villas, indicating that they are in fact using a phased approach to the off-plan debuts.
“The payment plans are quite affordable,” said Ahmed Al Khatib, Chief Development and Delivery Officer of Expo City Dubai, during a recent media tour of the project. “Fifty percent of the payment needs to be done before handover, and the remaining over the next five years.”
Dubai South benefits too
The attention garnered by Expo City is showing up favorably on property sales in the wider Dubai South area. “We are seeing prices rising – primarily because of off-plan launches – of as much as 40 percent,” said Sameer Lakhani, Managing Director at Global Capital Partners.
“Dubai South is becoming the new hub for residential developments not only in affordable segments but in the upper-middle and premium brackets. The masterplan allows for a striation of offerings, and investors, as well as end-users, have responded.”
With per square foot (psf) values ranging from Dh650 to Dh1,200, the pricing alternatives are also influencing demand.
Heavy interest in sub-Dh2m homes
The first quarter of the Dubai real estate market was one of the finest ever. There has been a lot of activity in the sub-Dh1 million and sub-Dh2 million price ranges, despite a Dh410 million penthouse purchase and, more recently, the most expensive land deal for Dh125 million capturing much of the limelight. 35 percent of all home sales in Q1-2023, according to DXBInteract.com, were for apartments priced under Dh1 million, and another 27 percent were for those priced between Dh1 million and Dh2 million. (Only 9% invested in properties costing more than Dh5 million, although for obvious reasons, these deals received the most attention.)
Jumeirah Village Circle
JVC had the best sales performance in Q1-23, with an average sales price of Dh687,500, thus demonstrating the area’s reputation for affordability. The average psf is Dh1,100, a 16% increase from the previous year.
Another company that is doing well is The MBR City, which has sales averages of Dh1.4 million and Dh1,800 per square foot, both of which are up 15.7%.
