Real estate – The Deyaar survival course

ENAR

With property prices falling, investors shying away, and lending scarcer than ever, real estate companies and developers are fighting to survive. Deyaar, one of the biggest real estate companies in Dubai, is managing the crisis with a highly refined five-step strategy, says Markus Giebel, the company’s chief executive officer. The most important tenet of the plan is to reduce loan default rates, which have been high — up to 50 percent — since the market slowdown began. “With this strategy, most developers can safeguard themselves throughout the crisis,” says Giebel.  Easy payment plan Deyaar offered its customers the Deyaar Easy Payment Plan (DEPP) which gives them greater flexibility in meeting payment obligations, however, “anybody who says easy payment plans solved the problem is wrong. It has just delayed it. The crisis is way too deep,” says Giebel. Price reduction After having eased payment plans, it is time to reduce prices.