...a there you - go - the Burj Dubai prices are falling as well now by 25-30 up to 50 pc %
Burj Dubai property prices fall by Nathalie Gillet -http://www.thenational.ae
Property prices within the Burj Dubai tower have declined by up to 50 per cent, say brokers. Paulo Vecina / The National
Residential prices for Emaar Properties’s signature Downtown Burj Dubai development have fallen by at least 22 per cent, with reductions of up to 50 per cent within the Burj Dubai tower itself, according to property brokers.
Some high-end developments in Abu Dhabi are also recording significant price declines in the secondary market, where properties change hands after being sold by the developer.
The price corrections underscore how the credit crunch and prospects of a global recession are affecting the property market, particularly high-end developments.
According to statistics from the international estate agents Hamptons, which is owned by Emaar, prices in the Downtown Burj Dubai area rose 88 per cent in the year to September. Other brokers said some prices more than doubled.
“This is indicative of the whole marketplace,” said Vincent Easton, the head of sales at Sherwoods property agency in Dubai. “Downtown [Burj Dubai] had quite a sharp spike in pricing. Anything that has a sharp spike is open to a correction if the market slows. Really, ultimately we will see the correct level.”
Sherwoods, which closely monitors transactions at the development, said it had observed an average decline of 25 per cent, including the Burj Dubai tower. Prices in the tower – scheduled to become the tallest in the world – increased the most, and have subsequently fallen sharply. Prices outside the tower fell from an average of Dh3,500 (US$952) per square foot to Dh2,700, Sherwoods said. “When you exclude Burj Dubai from the area, you get a more realistic idea of the decline in the development,” said a market research officer at Sherwoods. Flats on 8 Boulevard Walk, for instance, dropped from Dh3,300 per sq ft to Dh2,500 per sq ft in three weeks – a 24 per cent decrease.
Sujeeva De Silva, another Dubai-based property consultant, said prices in the Old Town quarter of the development had fallen 30 per cent in the past month, along with nearly 20 per cent at the South Ridges and Residences areas.