Hariri Mansion in Knightsbridge for sale
A 60,000 square-foot (5,574 square meter) ultra-luxurious home in London’s Knightsbridge is on sale with an asking price of GBP 300 million ($488 million). Owned by former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri from 1982 until his assassination in 2005, after Hariri’s death the mansion was bestowed as a gift to Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, as reported The Financial Times. Prince Sultan passed away in October 2011 and the property was put up for sale without any public announcement of the offer, said the FT citing industry insiders. Comprising seven floors and 45 bedrooms, many with a view of Hyde Park, plus luxury amenities, the home is expected to satisfy the requirements of even the most discerning family. If the asking price is met, the transaction will set a new record for the most expensive home sale in the United Kingdom, some 115 percent above the previous record for the priciest private home and about 775 times the value of the average London property transaction, which the FT cited at GBP 388,000 ($630,000).
REAL transformation in the works
The Real Estate Association of Lebanon (REAL) has been granted the first ministerial signature required for transformation into a syndicate last month and is in an advanced stage of being recognized as a professional syndicate, according to the secretary of its board, Walid Moussa. REAL, which held its inaugural assembly as a voluntary association for real estate brokers in October 2010, has made it its aim to increase the professionalism of intermediaries in the Lebanese real estate sector, where the broking of sales and rental agreements between landlords and buyers or tenants is historically a largely informal business. The process of becoming a syndicate put the organization on course to being a legal partner with Lebanese government entities in proposing laws and regulations for real estate broking as well as in training and certifying brokers and setting best practices for the industry. “We are entering a new era of real estate business in Lebanon where the real estate community will be represented by professionals who have been well educated and who have experience. From now on, we can be referred to,” Moussa told Executive. He added that the organization has also started collaboration on a brokerage training program with a Lebanese university and aims to increase its membership from around 80 to 200 brokers over the next two years. As Executive went to print, the process of accreditation as syndicate was expected to be complete within weeks.
New Emaar ‘Address’
United Arab Emirates-based developer Emaar Properties is building another hospitality-themed tower in the Downtown Dubai area dominated by Emaar’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. The new 63-floor project will be the second highest in the area and stand 340 meters tall. It will be marketed under the Emaar hotel brand, The Address, and represent a mixed-use concept of 15 five-star hotel floors with 200 rooms, combined with serviced apartments on the other floors. The developer did not disclose the value or the financing of the project. When Emaar started offering what it called “a significant volume” of the 542 serviced apartments to buyers on September 22, the developer said the units got a sell-out response within the first day. According to a report in Abu Dhabi’s The National, property agents had contracted day laborers to stand in line from as early as September 20 to secure spots in the queue for filing purchase applications. The project thus not only marks Emaar’s first new project of this scale in the area and a precursor of new development activity there that will include the Dubai Modern Art Museum and Opera House District; the project also underscores the return of trust in off-plan investment opportunities in the Dubai real estate sector. Emaar in July reported 45 percent higher net profit at $332 million for the first half in 2012 in year-on-year comparison, driven in a significant part by increased apartment sales. The company said it recorded sales valued at $486 million in Dubai in first half 2012, approximately five times the amount recorded in first half 2011.
High housing hopes in the kingdom
Speculation that the new Saudi mortgage law could come into force this month has fueled expectations that the kingdom’s home construction and housing finance sectors are about to enter a boom period. The Saudi Council of Ministers, the country’s cabinet, adopted the mortgage law in early July and officials and members of the business community said they expected the law to come into force three months after. A minimum 90-day period is mandated for the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the kingdom’s central bank, to fine tune the new law’s details and application rules. However, the law’s details were not disclosed at the time when its adoption by cabinet was announced and the Saudi authorities are known for applying new laws with careful consideration rather than rushed implementation. Mainly because of concerns over the need for foreclosure mechanisms, the mortgage law was debated back and forth for years and cabinet votes on it were deferred in 2010 and 2011. While the phasing in of the law will require time and initiatives to educate the population, Saudi finance experts and real estate market players are in consensus that mortgages will invigorate the country’s real estate sector. Reuters cited the chief financial officer of Saudi British Bank (SABB), Rehan Khan, as saying right after the law’s adoption that he expects the bank’s low mortgage lending activity “to change quite a lot over the next five years.” The mortgage system and expected drops in land prices will create a boom in Saudi construction activities, with low and middle income earners poised to use long-awaited chances to acquire homes, said a report by Al Shorfa, a website associated with the United States Defense Department’s Central Command.
Abu Dhabi rents move in tenants’ favor
The market for apartment rentals in the emirate of Abu Dhabi moved in favor of tenants in the third quarter of 2012, according to a report by United Arab Emirates-based real estate services firm Asteco. Data compiled by the company showed rental rates for prime buildings across the market softening by up to 3 percent quarter-on-quarter. Villa rental rates in some areas were stable but drops of up to 4 percent were reported from other areas. Older apartments in areas such as central Abu Dhabi and low quality buildings throughout the emirate saw prices fall more profoundly, with quarter-on-quarter drops of 4 to 8 percent. The result was a widening gap between prime developments and the rest of the market, the company’s chief executive, Elaine Jones, said in a statement. According to Asteco, more than 9,000 units have been added as supply in Abu Dhabi’s residential market since beginning 2012 and 7,400 of the new units were apartments. Sales prices for quality apartments dropped 2 percent on average from the previous quarter and in villa sales, where little transaction activity was observed, prices did not move. Per square meter, prices for apartments in Abu Dhabi cited by Asteco ranged between AED 5,916 and AED 11,724 ($1,610 to $3,192). Leasing activity for office spaces continued to improve at generally stable prices but tenants were price-sensitive and had a strong preference for fitted space, Asteco said.
Dubai residential tower tops the top
Princess Tower, the tallest residential structure on Earth at 414 meters height, was delivered last month by United Arab Emirates-based developers Tameer Holding. Located in the Dubai Marina district of the Dubai emirate, the AED1.5 billion ($408 million) structure with 100 floors above ground comprises 763 units. Princess Tower and another Tameer residential high rise, the 381-meter Elite Residence that was delivered a month earlier, were conceived in 2004 and 2006 and construction began before the emirate’s real estate bubble burst in 2008. Floor prices in Princess Tower ranged from approximately AED 1,200 to AED 2,500 per square foot ($3,528 – $7,350 per square meter), The National newspaper quoted Tameer President Frederico Tauber as saying. While both structures were completed with crisis-induced delays, they did not falter like many other residential projects in Dubai. However, another project by the developer, the Tameer Towers in Abu Dhabi, is still paralyzed and awaiting resumption of construction. The company last said in February 2012 that the Tameer Towers project is 21 percent complete and added that it remained committed to the project. Meanwhile, according to Tauber, the first units in the nearly sold-out Princess Tower have been handed over to buyers who can now tell their friends that their building is in the Guinness Book of World Records.
