Technology & IT | Thursday 18 June, 2015 4:28 pm |

Hafeez Abdullah, Chairman of ‘The H Holding Enterprise’, says that real-estate developers in Dubai have started shifting their focus on end-users or middle-income earners, by providing affordable housing.

Commenting on the Dubai Residential Market Overview report by JLL, the global real estate services firm, Abdullah said Dubai Municipality’s move to introduce mandatory affordable housing quotas in all new residential developments would trigger more sustainable growth in the coming period. The Municipality has allocated over 100 hectares of land for affordable housing across various locations in Dubai, targeting buyers and tenants with monthly income of between AED 3,000 and AED 10,000.

The JLL report revealed that the first quarter of the year continued to see subdued activity in Dubai’s real estate market. While residential rentals remained relatively flat, sales saw a marginal decline across apartments and villas.

“It is commendable how Dubai government is supporting stability in the real-estate sector. The existence of different types of developers in Dubai makes it a unique global market. We set up a real-estate arm early this year, and our operations are progressing better than expected,” said Abdullah.

The JLL report predicts more Grade A office space to enter the market, as the flight to quality remains the trend in Dubai’s office sector. At the same time, the first quarter saw developers and government initiatives targeting the affordable housing sector.

“Q1 saw the delivery of approximately 730 residential units across Dubai. An additional 22,000 units are expected to enter the market by the end of 2015. According to the report, another 13,000 units would be added in 2016 and 10,000 units in 2017,” added Abdullah.

“Our real-estate arm Omega Real Estate’s operations include facilities management, health and safety, fire safety, security, maintenance, testing and inspections, cleaning, operational, tendering, commercial property management, business continuity planning, space allocation and changes,” concluded Abdullah.

Omega is currently handling several projects across Dubai. The company’s strategy for this year is to gauge the emirate market before expansion, backed by a strong investment capital from its mother company.