Dubai’s first freehold residential & commercial on Sheikh Zayed Road

So its potential is beyond words making it a significant arterial highway in the UAE and every development around it matters a lot, so to create a distinctive investment opportunity the opening of 60 storey AA Tower dotted over 10,000 Square foot plots adding different developments such as 369 residential units (195 one bedroom apartments, 195 two bedroom apartment and 3 three bedroom apartment) along with 26 office units and 5 retail shops

And here the owners will get a leeway to connect 1 BR and 2 BR units to expand the size if it is required, and it is possible only when the buyer purchases 2 units. And here it comes with a 28 per cent down payment plan with 12 quarterly payments for 6 per cent.

It starts from Dh2.932 million to Dh5.4 million for Dh 3,544 to Dh4,578 per sqft. And for office space, it is priced between Dh2.232 million and Dh7 million, whereas its retail shops start from Dh12.136 million to Dh25 million which is its premium segment that comes with a heavy price tag.

On January 19, an important announcement was made by the Dubai Land Department for private property owners to convert properties to freehold ownership on Sheikh Zayed Road from the World Trade Centre Roundabout to the Water Canal and Al Jaddaf area.

Through the Dubai REST App, they can submit the application to the Dubai Land Department to evaluate the property value, and according to Real Estate Regulatory Authority guidelines a common area fee & service charges are calculated, then a 30 per cent conversion fee of the property’s valuation will be charged.

And after the payment is done, the title deed will be issued for property ownership.

• Check eligibility (to check if you have property under a freehold zone)
• Ready your ownership documents (NOC, ID, passport and more)
• Apply to DLD (use their app Dubai REST app)
• Pay the mandatory fees (combines conversion and registration fees)
• DLD approval (They take approval)
• Finally, get your freehold title deed (you get it after everything is approved)

KEY REASONS BEHIND THE IDEA

• Improving the availability of freehold properties
• Enhancing the overall position of the Dubai market
• To catch the attention of foreign investors
• Addition of freehold properties
• To improve the property prices
• Bring locals to the market
• To create real estate activity around Sheikh Zayed Road

These are some of the key considerations behind the idea of converting properties into freehold status to get 100% ownership, and the initiative encompasses 457 plots where 128 are on Sheikh Zayed Road and 329 in Al Jaddaf.

After this decision to buy properties into freehold status, the expected appreciation is going to be 50% which is an incredible add on, and for this, even the redevelopment and refurbishment will change the overall look and feel of the property to make it attractive in every sense because matching it with the current time is an essential consideration.

On the basis of data, the villa located in Al Wasl District has seen a jump of Dh4,500 per Sqft which was half of it before converting it into freehold. And this way it could add up to Dh500 million, so it can be said that property prices will rapidly rise on Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Jaddaf after granting freehold ownership.

As both residential and commercial properties are going to be freehold, but commercial will serve immediate benefits because of the scarcity of commercial and office space so this way it will also attract international businesses and local businesses to showcase their setup and use the potential of this premium area of Dubai.

So this overall policy is going to stimulate the demand for property in this area where the first buyers are going to get value addition at an early stage.

This is one of the steps towards Dubai’s Real Estate Strategy 2033 where the aim of the agenda is to transform the emirate’s property sector to double real estate’s contribution to GDP, strategies to promote long term residency, create more high value sustainable assets and even more to create the place as the global investment attraction.

So all in all, it improves the potential of Dubai’s real estate market where converting property into a freehold status pushes the overall land value that layers more buyers internationally and locally.

As the demand for freehold property is rising as it gives full authority to be its legal owner, the ROI is way better of such properties, high rental yields, no stress of paying annual ground rent and you get legal protection from Dubai Land Department, so this change will lead to benefits in Dubai’s real estate market as Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Jaddaf are the top of the line areas which will improve its potential as its high value sustainable assets are the real pillars.