Meet Jessica (Juan Zou)
When you meet Jessica(Juan Zou), a Coldwell Banker client from China and an enthusiastic Real Estate investor, she comes off to have an upbeat personality, one who has real love for the lifestyle Dubai has to offer. She plans to spend a considerable number of years of her life here. Initially Jessica came to Dubai as an entrepreneur, starting off a mobile shop business. Soon after her brother and sister joined to help her take care of the business she founded. Jessica thought it best to diversify her business portfolio and opted for investing in Dubai Real Estate.
1. How long have you been living in Dubai?
Jessica has been in Dubai for the past 5 years.
2. When did you invest in real estate in Dubai? How many properties have you bought here? Which communities did you buy in?
“I started investing in properties 2 years ago. I have 3 apartments in Downtown Dubai and 2 villas in the Springs. I see villas are in demand and think it’s the right time to put my money there. Currently I am looking in the Springs and Meadows.”
4. Why did you buy in Dubai? Are you planning to buy more properties in Dubai?
“My brother, sister and myself have a mobile business over here. There are too many people in this business, making it quite competitive so I think property is a good option. I’ve traveled to many countries but I love Dubai, so decided to buy here.”
“I want to invest in 20 apartments and villas in the near future, so have started my search for good deals and real estate that will get good rental returns.”
5. Do you live here alone or with your family?
“I live alone in Downtown Dubai. My brother and sister live close to our shop in Deira. I plan to be in Dubai for a very long time – I am very comfortable here. Dubai is a place for young business people and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
*Jessica is Coldwell Banker agent, Kriti Nanda’s client. Kriti Specializes Sale & Rental units in Downtown Dubai.
Meet Sujeet Ahuja
As Coldwell Banker Branch Manager in Dubai Marina, Sujeet Ahuja leads a team of 10 real estate agents focusing on properties in the Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah, JLT and Emirates Living. He has experienced Dubai with its highs and lows in real estate and offers his insights on the same.
1. Can you tell us how the real estate market has matured in the last ten years that it offered freehold properties?
“Dubai has been known as a trading hub. When trade was at its peak, people showed interest to buy properties in Dubai so the government formed Emaar & Nakheel which started selling freehold properties to expatriates. The market was very premature back in 2002 so it was more of an investor’s playground. Where people put in money and gained large returns over short periods - a speculative market. But in the last 5 years, Dubai has been going through a stage of maturity as prices have stabilized in most communities, there are more end users and most consumers know exactly what they want and are doing comprehensive checks before they purchase – our agents in turn need to be up-to-date with all the necessary details for each of their listings when speaking to the segment of mature consumers that have emerged.“
2. Going forward in the coming years, what is becoming of the freehold market in the UAE? What would you like improved in the system, going forward?
“In recent years the government has converted certain sections of non-freehold areas to freehold areas for expatriate purchase such as Jumeirah, Umm Suqqeim, Barsha , and Nad Al Hammar, which are increasing daily. But the government has to take more measures to make the market more transparent and in turn build investor confidence. They have to make sure that all real estate implied rules are enforced and not changed randomly such as what happened with the visa rules which changed twice. This undoubtedly shakes the confidence of the investors. Even RERA should monitor the listings on the web portals in order to avoid fake listings on these websites which is manipulative advertising by certain brokers to generate leads. This decreases the chances for genuine listings from credible companies to generate leads which mean the client is being misled and not serviced efficiently. The government needs to establish a concrete system, one that lays a strong foundation for secure property transactions with minimum grey areas. “
