Hundreds of Buyers Queue Up for Dubai's $5 Million Palm-Island Homes

Hundreds of buyers scrambled to snap up luxury homes on the largest of Dubai’s palm-shaped islands where villas are going for 10 times the price of when the project was launched — but never built — two decades ago.

Brokers and investors queued in 100° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius) heat from 6 a.m. on Wednesday outside Nakheel PJSC’s sales center where the government-backed developer is selling hundreds of five-to-seven bedroom villas on the undeveloped Palm Jebel Ali — about 50 kilometers from downtown Dubai.

Homes start at 18.7 million dirhams ($5.1 million), while the cheapest plots of land are selling for about 40 million dirhams.

Armed with check-books, brokers — many representing buyers from Russia and India — pleaded with staff to let them into Nakheel’s heavily-guarded offices at the base of the city’s first and most famous man-made island, Palm Jumeirah.

One employee handed out water and paper towels to the crowd.

Dubai is reviving the Palm Jebel Ali project years after it was halted as the emirate seeks to cash in on an influx of newcomers, which ended a seven-year property slump and pushed prices to record levels.

The luxury end of the market, in particular, has seen a spectacular reversal with the city soaring to the top spot of global rankings in the second quarter for transactions of homes valued at $10 million or above, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.

Nakheel started selling townhouses and high-end waterfront homes on the Palm Jebel Ali in 2003 for between 1.8 million dirhams and 5.6 million dirhams. Those properties were then resold many times without a single brick being laid.

In a sales brochure at the time, Nakheel called Palm Jebel Ali the eighth wonder of the world.

Buyers will have to pay 20% of the villa’s value upfront and a further 40% during construction. The balance is due when the properties are complete in 2027.

“No client wants to stand in the heat so we come with documents and a credit card authorization of 200,000 dirhams, while they make a bank transfer for the rest.”Ajay Singh, a broker at La Capitale Real Estate, said.

For Nakheel’s latest project, the long line of brokers and investors outside its sales office started to form overnight, prompting police to step in and patrol cars were stationed in the area. Only brokers who received tokens were allowed to return in the morning.

Ref: Hundreds of Buyers Queue Up for Dubai's $5 Million Palm-Island Homes (businesstimes)

Photo Credit:  Nakheel