Expats May Be Allowed To Buy Plots in Umm Al Quwain
Umm Al Quwain is expected to pass laws allowing expats to acquire plots on 99-year leases in the Emirates Industrial City.
Promoted by real estate company Tameer, Emirates Industrial City is being conceived as a mixed-use development featuring industrial, commercial and residential units.
"We have been assured by the Umm Al Quwain Government that laws will soon be passed to allow non-GCC investors to have at least a 99-year lease," said Omar Ayesh, chairman of Tameer.
Development costs at Emirates Industrial City, covering 80 million square feet, are estimated at Dh150 million. The total saleable area is 50 million square feet.
Investors have already snapped up most of the available plots in the development, which should be completed in another 12 months.
The northern emirates are actively tapping the demand for property related investments.
While Dubai has been riding the crest of that demand, the other emirates are trying to catch up.
Tameer will shortly announce a project in Ajman, which is part of its Dh3 billion portfolio in realty projects. There is also the development of a 60-storey tower, the Al Ameera, on the Dubai-Sharjah road. "There are many who have been fearing a crash will happen any day in the local property market," Ayesh said.
"However, we see the momentum as being sustainable, and all views about an impending crash to be totally baseless."
Tameer netted Dh700 million during a three-day period last week at an industry exhibition.
According to Dr Ahmad Samerai, economic adviser to the company, stock market rallies across the region are generating substantial liquidity into the economy.
Consequently, real estate is seen as a good medium to park some of the overflow because it offers guaranteed yields higher than those available in other ventures.
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