Dubai Townhouse Buying Guide Q4 2016 Part 4: Recommendations

This report will give you investment recommendations for townhouses based on potential objectives: location, desirability or capital gains.

Objective: Location

If location is a priority for you, then this chart will help you compare the various locations of ready & off-plan townhouse communities.

Objective: Desirability

The below table helps rank communities according to desirability (i.e. the key factors that end-users look for when purchasing):

Objective: Short & Mid-term Capital Growth

The following four communities are the ones we believe (at this point in December 2016) to offer the best prospects for capital growth:

1. Mira Oasis

•  Investors typically realize significant capital gains when they find below market opportunities 6 – 15 months before a project hands over.
•  Mira Oasis is located next to the recently handed over Mira and will be delivered from Q4 2017 – Q4 2018. Mira Oasis was positioned to be an upgrade on the Mira townhouses.
•  At the moment, there are some buying opportunities at original price (OP) or in some cases below OP.
•  In order to take advantage of these types of opportunities, buyers must have available cash of at-least 50% of the original price + closing costs. Mortgages are not yet available.
•  Current transaction values range from AED 1.6 – 2.4 million for 3 & 4 bed units.

2. Warsan Village

•  Warsan Village is the most affordable townhouses in Dubai. Handovers will take place starting from Q1 2017 and continue through the year.
•  These units were all sold out AED 1.7 – 1.85 million. Currently there are opportunities to purchase 3 bedroom townhouses for AED 1.55 – 1.65 million.
•  These units will earn a healthy rental yield (6.5% at minimum). Strong prospects for capital growth of at least 10 – 15% within 12 – 15 months.

3. Maple in Dubai Hills

•  Of all the off-plan future supply, Maple promises to have the best location and be in one of Dubai’s most desirable future communities – Dubai Hills.
•  Investing in quality and location will always pay off in the long-term.
•  Investors have two strategies for Dubai Hills: we can help you purchase units from the primary market (limited 4 & 5 bed units still available).
•  The other strategy is to utilize cash and purchase below original price in the coming 12 months. However, these types of opportunities are rare and have to be acted upon rapidly.

4. NSHAMA Town Square

•  NSHAMA’s Town Square development is the only community we believe has extremely strong prospects for short-term capital gains.
•  NSHAMA have launched four townhouse enclaves: Zahra, Hayat, Safi and Noor – about 1,500 townhouses in total. It is possible to purchase these units from the secondary market with premiums ranging from 8 – 12%.
•  Currently 3 bed units are for AED 1.35 – 1.45 million (significantly cheaper than Emaar’s Mira, which is ready across Al Qudra Road where similar 3 bed units are transacting for a minimum of AED 1.8 million.
•  Similarly the 4 bed units are for AED 1.75 – 1.9 million (much cheaper than the Type 2E and 1E units in Mira which have starting prices of AED 2.3 million at the moment).