Nakheel has announced that residents that live on the Palm Jumeirah will be charged up to 5,000 dirham per year for access the beach clubs.

It was mentioned over the last few months that Nakheel were looking to take these steps however, did anybody really believe that this would happen? We know Nakheel is strapped for cash but is this necessary?

The outlook looks grim for the tenants on the Palm, pay for access to the gymnasium, swimming pool and private beach… Will this take away the reasons to pay the extra to live on the Palm?

Details have been presented to the residents meeting group and have not been finalised however it is expected that an announcement will take place within a week.

Nakheel, one of the largest Dubai Property developers in Dubai are also looking to charge non residence up to 12,000 dirham per year to use the facilities as they feel this would help subsidise the resident’s fees.

Apparently this is applicable to people living in the Shoreline project and a family membership is understood to be 5,000 dirham and will give full access to the beach club.

With all this said it is still no clear whether Nakheel has received approval from RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) so that they can go ahead with the privatisation of the shoreline’s beach club.

Nakheel, a government owned developer is still in dispute with the owners of the properties in the Shoreline as to who has the rights the beach clubs, this has led to the owners receiving separate bills for maintenance and the facilities at the beach clubs.

RERA and Nakheel declined to comment.

Many homeowners in the Shoreline have rightly lodged complaints as they believe that they were sold the properties with the understanding that they had free access to the facilities such as pools, gyms and beach.

“Many tenants and owners alike are questioning whether they will be able to get the beach access when renting a property in the Shoreline. With the appeal of the Palm Jumeirah quite obvious I really wonder how this will affect the quality of living for many tenants. The Shoreline has always dictated a higher rental price as tenants have access to the facilities, now it looks like the rental figure will go up by an extra 5,000 dirham’s.
I think that owners of the Shoreline apartments firstly need to check there Sales and Purchase agreements and see if this was mentioned at the time of purchase” says one tenant in Shoreline.

Property World Dubai is adamant that the Dubai property market is close to the bottom of the down turn. Now the big question for so long time has been – how far can it go down? The answer is simple. It depends on who you talk to about it. Many brokers and landlords in Dubai still have properties advertised at old prices. So, if you have two identical properties available on the same floor in the same building, one is priced at 500,000 dirham the other is priced at 650,000 dirham, is the market going to continue to come down for the later owner? Yes it is.

Properties in Dubai are selling like hot cakes according to Peter Twist of Property World Dubai. “As long as the property is priced correctly, it will sell. There is no shortage of buyers in the Dubai market at this time, many of our buyers are from the UK or at least have been resident in the UK for some years”.

Many owners of Dubai property have seen huge drops in the prices since the crash; some report up to 60%. Buyer interest has been weak for the last 2 years however, due to a very stable market for the last 6 months; it seems buyers feel more confident in the Dubai property market once again.

Property World Dubai has seen an increase in the rental market, especially Jumeirah Lake Towers and Dubai Marina as these areas have now become more affordable to the majority. There has also been an increase in the higher end properties as more companies have relocated their offices to different areas in Dubai to capitalise on the low commercial rental prices.

Many relocation companies are reporting that they have a very big demand from high end corporate clients that are relocating from huge companies currently based in the likes of Singapore and Hong Kong.

The upturn in the market will surely be welcomed by the Dubai Government who has recently announced that they will once again be providing resident visas for investors in Dubai. This news will have a huge impact on the Dubai property market. The issuing of the Dubai residency visas will be finalised over the forthcoming months.

An encouraging 26% will be increasing their investment in Dubai according to the report.

“The general rule that the current investor is essential to future investment flows appears to hold true in Dubai. This is especially important in times of global turbulence when many investors seek new opportunities,” said Fahd Al Gergawi, CEO of FIO.

Most of the investors from the Middle East are either looking to enter the Dubai market or are already in the market with 5% planning to invest within the next 3 years, the report suggested. The report also suggests that just over 10% are not currently in Dubai but are looking to be in the next 3 years.

The signs are looking up in Dubai with many new enquiries for property for sale in all areas of Dubai and many enquiries from foreign newcomers looking for property for rent in Dubai.

Property World Dubai has grown and grown throughout the dip in the property market in Dubai. By offering properties for sale at very competitive prices to encourage investors and building confidence in overseas recruitment companies relocating new employees to Dubai with good quality property for rent in all areas of Dubai.

Dubai does in fact has so much to offer everyone, whether you come to invest in a new business venture, buy property in Dubai, relocate to Dubai or come to Dubai for a holiday there is something here for you.

Many investors start with a small investment to get used to the ways of the Middle East, for example a studio that could give you a potential ROI return on investment of around 10%.

Recently Dubai governments RTA – (Roads and Transport Authority) has finally given an accurate opening date for seven more metro stations. The date that has been set is 30th April 2010 along with 3 more on 15th May 2010.
RTA’s board chairman and CEO Motar Al-Tayer recently spoke to reporters explaining that the consortium that is currently developing the Dubai Metro would complete all the works of the 18 stations that make up the Red Line on the 25th April and that the opening to be 30th April 2010.

“The seven stations to be opened late this month are the Emirates, the airport’s Terminal I, Al-Karama, Burj Dubai (Dubai tower), Dubai Internet City, Marina, and Ibn Batuta,” Al-Tayer explained.

“The three stations due to open on May 15 are the GG Co., the Trade Center, and Al-Qous with the remaining eight stations of the Red Line, which serves key areas in the emirate, being opened in the coming months,” he continued.

“The stations slated for early opening were decided according to a number of criterions including the population density in the respective areas of the stations, the commercial activities and public buildings in the vicinity, and the closeness to other means of transport,” .
A recent survey carried out on the neighbourhoods that the Metro crosses as a prelude to the launch of new public bus stations close to the Metro Stations.

Al-Tayer also went on to explain that up to 28 buses were added to link the metro stations to the existing road network in the neighbourhoods within a span of time between trip ranging between 13 and 20 minutes.
Incredibly since 9th September 2009, Dubai Metro has had a daily average of around 80,000 commuters and has carried 13.68 million people.

The CEO added that he is expecting to top 35 million passengers when it is at full capacity towards the end of the year.