Al Muneera, Al Raha Beach. Courtesy of Better Homes

Dh105,000

Annual rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Al Muneera, Al Raha Beach, Abu Dhabi

Features

The apartment is located on the sixth floor and offers great views of the sea and canals; there is wood flooring throughout, as well as fitted kitchen appliances and built-in wardrobes in each bedroom

Pros

Rates are negotiable and you can pay in four cheques, easy access to Sheikh Khalifa Highway, underground parking and an on-site Spinneys

Cons

This is a relatively new development so there may be teething problems. More shops, cafes and gyms are on the way, but not yet in place

They say Al Muneera brings to Abu Dhabi a standard of living that is unmatched anywhere else in the city. More info

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi’s largest real estate developer Aldar Properties’ chief executive officer has said that 1,220 units have been completed this year at the Al Raha Beach development and another 800 units will be completed by the end of this month.

Al Bandar

“A total of 116 showrooms have been completed in Motor City and tenants are moving in soon,” Sami Asad told delegates at a MEED conference in the capital.

Asad said that Aldar is working on the Yas Mall on Yas Island and that work will be completed in 2013. The Yas Island water park project is due for completion in 2012, he added.

On October 31, Aldar Properties said changing market conditions had provoked the layoff of 24 per cent of its workforce.

In January, the emirate’s biggest developer, agreed to sell real estate assets including a Ferrari theme park and convertible bonds to the government for Dh19.2 billion to reduce its debt. More info

Apartment hunters with a taste for luxury will soon find a tantalising array of five-star rental options coming on to the market on Abu Dhabi island.

Several towers are scheduled to open on or near the Corniche in the next few months, offering more than 1,400 apartments with rooftop pools, health clubs and all the modern amenities. For the first time, the capital will have the type of high-end apartment towers common in Dubai.

“I see a lot of people moving back from Dubai because we have the quality now,” says Almer Agmyren, the managing director of Rex Real Estate. “There really hasn’t been the quality in Abu Dhabi.”

The list of nearly completed projects includes Etihad Towers, the collection of five blocks near the Emirates Palace hotel. There is also the 47-storey Seba Tower, now known as Al Ain Tower and commonly known as the “wobbly building”, near Spinneys market, and Nation Towers, which is next to the Hilton Corniche.

“These three will be setting the ceiling for the market,” says Paul Maisfield, the general manager of the Abu Dhabi office for Asteco,a property management company. “All three are competing for the high-end market.”

Prospective tenants have been told the first of the 885 apartments in Etihad Towers will be available on October 15. The project involves three towers ranging from 55 to 75 storeys.

Annual rents in the Etihad Towers apartments range from a low of Dh100,000 (US$27,227) for a 67-square metre one bedroom to Dh972,000 for a 732-sqmetre penthouse. A two-bedroom, 160-sq metre apartment is listed at about Dh225,000.

Al Ain Tower, which is expected to offer similar pricing, is also scheduled to open by the end of October, agents have been told. Nation Towers is likely to open in the spring.

The new apartments, along with the recently opened Capital Plaza near the Sheraton Corniche, are already popular with home hunters.

“Anything on the Corniche is literally like a jewel in the crown,” says Steve Morgan, the head of the UAE office for the property consultancy Cluttons. “They are filling a niche in the marketplace for people who can afford it.”

People looking to rent who are willing to pay for top-of-the-line luxury have few options in Abu Dhabi.

A 7,500-sq foot penthouse with a wide terrace in Al Bandar on Raha Beach is currently listed for Dh600,000 a year. On the main island, a 10,700-sq ft penthouse in Khalidiya is available for Dh800,000 a year.

But the new towers will add variety and depth to the menu of choices in the city, offering a lifestyle “not really offered yet in Abu Dhabi”, Mr Maisfield said. The projects include the types of pools, saunas, health clubs and restaurants with spectacular views that are still a rarity in central Abu Dhabi.

“They have the amenities and the location,” says Eduarda Silveira, a consultant with the estate agency Better Homes.

The new choices could put further pressure on already falling rents around the island. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is down more than 40 per cent since the peak in 2008, according to Jones Lang LaSalle data.

Most analysts expect rents to continue to fall in the next year as more projects come on to the market.

“They will definitely have a knock-on effect,” says Mr Maisfield. “If it does get competitive, there will have to be an impact on the rest of the market.”

Asteco has also said that new projects are “leading to a significant rise in leasing enquiries, predominantly from existing residents looking for better value for money and upgrades”.

The new towers on the Corniche are coming on to the market at the same time as thousands of apartments are being completed on Reem Island and Raha Beach. Jones Lang LaSalle predicts that 16,000 new homes will be completed in Abu Dhabi this year.

But some experts doubt the Corniche towers will draw people away from the off-island developments.

“It’s a totally different product,” says Ms Silveira.

Reem and Raha developments are attracting younger renters and people looking for an easy commute to Dubai, she said. The Corniche projects will probably attract older renters and families that want more of a city lifestyle.

But annual rents of more than Dh150,000 for a two-bedroom apartment will put off many people. At that price, they have the option of paying less to lease a villa, which is the preferred option for many families. Two-bedroom villas in Abu Dhabi rent for about Dh110,000 a year, according to Asteco’s latest research report.

But the new towers on the Corniche will make home hunters think twice about their current apartments. Managers of older buildings may find it difficult to keep current tenants, unless they lower rent and upgrade their services.

“We will see a flight to quality,” says Mr Agmyren.

kbrass@thenational.ae

Investment bank Rasmala reckons a 20 per cent downside potential to property prices in Dubai, estimating that an additional 35,000 homes will be delivered in the emirate between 2011 and 2013 – boosting the existing housing stock of an estimated 330,000 units by about 10 per cent.

“We believe the Dubai residential market may see delivery of 30,000-35,000 units of apartments and villas combined between 2011 and 2013, upon an existing supply base of roughly 330,000 units. This translates into roughly 10 per cent incremental supply over three years, which we believe will further depress real state asset values,” the bank said today in a report on the UAE’s real estate market.

“Our house view remains that Dubai residential sales may bottom out at Dh600-650 per sq ft, hence current price levels of Dh750 per sq ft imply an additional 15-20 per cent downside potential to property prices,” it added.

On the other hand, analysts at the investment bank maintain that Abu Dhabi, which will see more houses entering the market than Dubai, will see at least a 20 per cent drop in residential prices. “We expect Abu Dhabi to lag Dubai by about nine to 12 months on the property clock, and we estimate approximately 40,000 units will be delivered there between 2011 and 2013 on an existing install base of roughly 200,000 units, hence 20 per cent incremental supply over three years,” the report said.

“Although we believe Abu Dhabi will retain a certain premium over Dubai in terms of rents and house prices, both emirates markets are largely correlated in our view, given a similarity in demographics (80 per cent-plus expat community), marginal mortgage financing, substitution effect and meaningful supply-demand mismatches between 2011 and 2013. We expect Abu Dhabi to experience at least 20 per cent declines in residential values from current levels of roughly Dh1,000 per sq ft prior to reaching a sustainable trough,” it said.

Rasmala, nevertheless, sees a number of long-term positives for the UAE’s property market, including the receding impact of the Arab Spring on property investments, as well as the affirmative effect of new property visa rules in the country.

“In addition to regional risk subsiding, for UAE specifically visa law changes may have marginal benefits in the near term and potentially greater benefits in the long run,” the Rasmala report said.

“Increasing UAE residency visa tenures from six months to three years for real estate investors is likely a positive development for the sector and, in our view, supports broader confidence. However, a direct tangible impact on property prices is difficult to estimate in the foreseeable future. We believe current property transactions are primarily driven by supply-demand dynamics and associated risk-rewards, while visa implications are more secondary catalysts.”

The investment bank has therefore upgraded regional property benchmark Emaar Properties to a Buy and reiterated Drake and Scull International as a Buy while keeping Aldar, Sorouh and Arabtec as Holds. “We believe the regional risk profile and investor sentiment is gradually turning positive, so we reduce our risk premium forecasts across the board as we ease through the uncertain Arab uprising phase.”

Aldar Properties said on Monday that hand-over to homeowners has commenced at the beachfront Al Zeina residential development in its Al Raha Beach project.

“Delivery of the first phase of the development which consists of three precincts… began last week, with the remaining homes scheduled for delivery this September,” Aldar said in a statement.

Al Zeina is the first beachfront residential development in Abu Dhabi available for purchase by national and international buyers and follows the delivery of the neighbouring Al Bandar community last September.

It includes apartments, penthouses and a range of townhouses and villas, some with private courtyards and pools.

“Al Zeina’s quality and location and competitive pricing mean that it has been popular among current residents of Abu Dhabi who are renting but looking to buy, those who are interested in owning a property at a beach development as well as individuals who are looking for a luxury unit,” said Mohammad Al Za’abi, Director of Estates at Aldar.

Yas Hotel management

Meanwhile, Aldar Properties has appointed the Viceroy Hotel Group to operate the Yas Hotel, marking the Abu Dhabi developer’s exit from hotel management.

The Yas Hotel, which overlooks the Formula One circuit on Yas Island, was the last of the eight hotels owned by Aldar it still operated.

The Yas property will be the first hotel managed outside the Americas by the US-based Viceroy, which is 50 per cent owned by Mubadala Dev-elopment, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government.

Viceroy is also slated to operate a 250-room hotel, the Viceroy Abu Dhabi, planned for Sowwah Island, the new financial district developed by Mubadala.

Aldar reported a Dh189.1 million net profit for the first quarter of 2011, compared to a Dh314.2 million net loss in the corresponding period last year.

Aldar’s Chief Executive Officer Sami Assad said in May the company will deliver over 2,500 residential units this year at its Al Muneera and Al Zeina developments on the Al Raha Beach project, besides 150 showrooms at Motor World, and one commercial tower at Al Muneera.

Aldar’s portfolio of projects in the emirate of Abu Dhabi is valued at more than $75 billion with the entire portfolio slated to be completed and delivered in this decade.

“It’s important to see more meaningful government-related projects being awarded to Aldar to validate its key role in the development of Abu Dhabi,” Anastasios Dalgiannakis, Head of Trading at Mubasher Financial Services, told Gulf News.

The stock of Aldar on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange fell 2.34 per cent yesterday in a declining market to close at Dh1.25.

Just 87 homes available for UAE Nationals in the heart of Abu Dhabi. Aldar Properties PJSC, Abu Dhabi’s leading property development, management and investment company, today announced the release of new homes for UAE Nationals in the Al Bateen Park development at the heart of Abu Dhabi Island.

Located between Khaleej al Arabi and Sultan bin Zayed Streets, this new residential community is comprised of 272 two to four bedroom apartments, which were pre-sold last April, as well as 75 villas and 12 three bedroom penthouse apartments which go on sale today.

Set amongst lush landscaped surroundings and high quality recreational areas, these new four bedroom villas in an Arabesque design, feature balconies and gardens as well as ample resident and guest parking.

Residents will also benefit from access to a clubhouse and swimming pool on site, a new Aldar Academies school and kindergarten close by which will accept its first students this September, as well as shops, restaurants and cafes.

Good construction progress has been made across the development, with almost 50% of the concrete skeletal structures now complete. Superstructure and infrastructure works are in progress and the completion of all concrete works, as well as the model villas and apartments, is scheduled for early in Q4 2011.The development is on track for completion in the second half of 2012.

Mohammed al Mubarak, Chief Commercial Officer of Aldar Properties, said:

“We are delighted to announce the release of villas and penthouse apartments at Al Bateen Park. Since the launch of this exciting new residential community at Cityscape Abu Dhabi last year, we have seen significant interest from UAE Nationals looking to purchase homes at this peaceful, private and secure development in a prime location at the very heart of Abu Dhabi.

This is going to be a great place to live and we look forward to welcoming the first residents in 2012.”

Visitors looking for a mix of futuristic flair, up and coming development and historic charm might enjoy spending some time in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Abu Dhabi is the largest and wealthiest of the UAE’s seven emirates and has most of the country’s oil reserves. While it’s not nearly as cosmopolitan as Dubai, the emirate can be more liveable. As the weather heats up in the summer, the best time to visit is October until April.

Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors get the most out of a short visit to the Gulf capital, where — like other Muslim countries — the weekend starts on Thursday.

Thursday

5 p.m. Visit Yas Island (www.yasisland.ae/). Spend some time taking photos of the flash boats at the Yas Marina as well as exploring Yas Hotel, a futuristic building that sits next to the Formula 1 track for Abu Dhabi’s Grand Prix.

6 p.m. Grab a quick bite at one of the restaurants in the hotel. Try the sweet and sour chicken at Noodle Box, a contemporary Asian restaurant that boasts an outside terrace facing the track.

7 p.m. Attend a live concert at the Yas Arena, which has hosted past performances by Stevie Wonder, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Eric Clapton. Purchase tickets ahead of time online through www.timeouttickets.com, www.boxofficeme.com, www.thinkflash.ae or www.virginmegastore.me

9:30 p.m. Go to Skylite lounge back at Yas Island Hotel and knock back a mojito on the rooftop. You can also get some great views of the marina. Dress is smart casual.

Friday

10 a.m. After breakfast, soak up some morning sun by visiting Al Raha Beach (www.alrahabeach.com/), a popular public beach located close to the city center. For the ladies-only beach head to the West Corniche Road, leading to the Abu Dhabi Ladies Club.

Noon For lunch, try UAE’s nationwide chain, Automatic Restaurant, in the Al Markaziyah area. The Lebanese restaurant offers some of the best shawarmas, shish tawouk, which is a traditional Arabic shish kebab, and hummus in town.

1 p.m. Relax in Khalifa Park, a half a million square meter area with a museum, a 3,200 seat amphitheatre, sports area, water features, a monorail, and a number of fountains, sculptures, theme parks and restaurants. Take a ride on the Ferris wheel, appreciate the sculptures and take a ride on the train at Falcon Station.

3 p.m. Go to the famous Emirates Palace where world leaders come for conferences. Have afternoon tea in the main lobby. Not only does the menu offer some of the most delicate sandwiches, but the signature cappuccino is topped with gold flakes. If you feel like something sweet, try the green apple juice. Watch tourists in groups take photos of the lobby.

4:30 p.m. Walk around the hotel and admire the gilt and marble pillars, as well as the crystal chandeliers. Visit the Saadiyat Island Cultural District Exhibition, located off to the side of the lobby, to learn about the culture of Abu Dhabi. The project on the island, to be completed in 2020, is expected to be Abu Dhabi’s cultural center. Also, take pictures of the gold ATM located near the Harp player.

5:30 p.m. After a filling afternoon snack, get some exercise and some great views by talking a walk along the Corniche. Take photos of the Arabian Gulf and admire the far-reaching skyscrapers and construction sites in the distance.

7 p.m. Have dinner at Wasabi at the Al Diar Mina hotel, one of the best Japanese restaurants in town. Try the shrimp spring rolls on a bed of fried rice or the sushi combo boats ideal for sharing.

Saturday

10 a.m. After breakfast at your hotel, take a tour of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the third largest mosque in the world, which can accommodate up to 40,000 worshippers. Once you enter the mosque, women will be given an abaya to cover up. Take a photo of one of the largest chandeliers in the world under the main dome in the prayer hall and visit the grave of the Sheikh Zayed just outside the side entrance. Don’t forget to take off your shoes before you enter the main prayer room.

11:30 a.m. Visit Heritage Village, a group of traditional buildings and a small museum that aims to educate visitors about the life of the Bedouin people. Take an opportunity to buy spices, perfumes and fragrant soap.

Noon. Have lunch at Sevilo’s in the Millennium Hotel. Voted one of the top 10 restaurants in Abu Dhabi, the Italian restaurant has adventurous items like the ostrich salad as well as classics like oven-fresh pizza. The restaurant also has a great view of the Capital Gardens.

1:30 p.m. Head indoors to Madinat Zayed Shopping Center to avoid the heat. The mall has a small selection of known brands like Nine West and G2000, but the majority of stores include jewelry, perfume and pashmina shops and stalls. Nearby is the Gold Souk, where tourists can pick from a selection of jewelry and watches.

4 p.m. Explore the area around the center, which includes Star of Market Bookshop and a mix of other stores along Al Falah Street.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the biggest hotel chain in the world, is aiming to increase the number of its hotels in the region by 50 per cent within the next four years, although some of its projects have suffered delays.

The company, based in the UK, with brands including Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, has 76 hotels operating in the Middle East and a further 37 under development.

“There’s a lot going on,” said Karin Sheppard, the vice president commercial for IHG in the Middle East and Africa. “Here in the UAE, which is a strong market for us, we currently have 16 hotels and another six in the pipeline.”

IHG this month took over the management of the former Marriott Renaissance hotel in Deira, Dubai. As part of the change, the property is to undergo a US$55 million (Dh202m) refurbishment. In Dubai, IHG has Crowne Plaza hotels under development in Business Bay and in the International Media Production Zone.

“The market has had a slowdown and projects have slowed down compared to first projections,” said Ms Sheppard.

In Abu Dhabi, an InterContinental hotel is planned for Al Raha Beach, but it is not expected to open until 2015.

Hotel companies worldwide have experienced delays to their projects as developers suffered setbacks as finance dried up. Hotel occupancy was also hit by a downturn in global travel.

Last year, IHG revenue per available room, an important industry indicator, grew by 6.1 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as a whole. But in the Middle East alone, there was a 1 per cent drop.

“Egypt is an important market for us,” said Ms Sheppard. IHG has hotels in Cairo and in resort locations including Port Ghalib. “For us, what’s important is to look at as the market stabilises again how we can drive recovery back into the market. Egypt, just like many markets here, bounces back.” Within the GCC, Saudi Arabia is a particular focus for IHG. The company plans to launch its budget Holiday Inn Express brand there within the next couple of years.

“That could become a popular choice for emerging travellers,” says Ms Sheppard.

Ishraq Gulf Real Estate, which is majority-owned by Dubai International Capital, also has a franchise arrangement with IHG, as the exclusive developer of the brand in the GCC.

Sami al Ansari, the chief executive of the company, last year told The National that plans to build 20 Holiday Inn Express budget hotels in the Gulf for up to Dh3 billion have been pushed back. So far the brand has opened properties only in Dubai, although there are plans to open another in Bahrain this year.

Ms Sheppard said demand for such brands was only likely to grow. “The emergence that you are seeing here in terms of the low-cost carriers is creating another dynamic for mid-market travellers, encouraging people to travel more.”

rbundhun@thenational.ae

Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts, which has expanded aggressively in Dubai in the past year, says it is confident it will have a presence in Abu Dhabi despite slow construction progress.

“In Abu Dhabi we have experienced delays,” said Andreas Mattmueller, the chief operating officer of Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts, Middle East and Asia.

Moevenpick signed agreements to manage four five-star properties in Abu Dhabi, but all the projects are behind schedule. One hotel, which was planned to be located next to Ferrari World onYas Island, should have opened last year but construction has yet to begin.

“It should be open now,” said Mr Mattmueller. “We will see what’s going to happen.” The other hotels are planned for Reem Island, Al Raha Beach and Al Ain, and are some of the 13 agreements signed in the region for properties worth about US$1.5 billion (Dh5.5bn) in total.

The hotel on Reem Island is being built by Tamouh and the Al Ain property is being developed by Sorouh. Work on those buildings has started, but they are about three years from completion. The Yas Island and Al Raha properties are being developed by Aldar Properties.

“There are several hotels planned,” Mr Mattmueller said. “We are not the only ones having signed agreements. I am sure that they will look at the opportunities and stagger the openings of the hotels. We are very confident that sooner or later we will have a presence in Abu Dhabi.”

Jones Lang LaSalle said in a report yesterday that many hotel projects in Abu Dhabi were expected to be delayed given the market conditions.

With growth in supply outpacing demand, rates and occupancy levels last year came under extreme pressure.

“The supply pipeline is expected to nearly double over the next three years, although a large portion of this inventory may not materialise during this period,” the report stated. Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts, in which Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding and Kingdom Hotel Investments has a 33.3 per cent stake, is based in Switzerland.

The company, which has opened three hotels in Dubai in the past year despite the economic downturn, says its other properties in the emirate are progressing, although they are behind schedule.

The Jumeirah Lake Towers residences are expected to open by May and the hotel component is expected to open in September. Two Moevenpick hotels are under development on the Palm Jumeirah, Oceana and the Royal Amwaj resort, which are being built by the Dubai-based developer Seven Tides.

Mr Mattmueller said the Royal Amwaj property should open before the end of the year. Seven Tides also owns the Moevenpick Deira, which opened last month and the Ibn Battuta Gate hotel, managed by Moevenpick, which opened last October. Moevenpick also opened a hotel at Jumeirah Beach Residence last year.

“Sometimes when you have four or five hotels under construction, you see a lot of cash outflow as an investor, and it’s normal you say times were tough over the past two years,” Mr Mattmueller said. “So it’s about focus and I think they [Seven Tides] did that extremely well to open the two hotels first and now some cash flow is coming in they’ll finish the other hotels,” said Mr Mattmueller. Since the onset of the economic downturn, a number of hotels planned in the UAE have been cancelled or postponed.

He believes there is still room for more hotels in Dubai. Last week Dubai benefited from the instability in the Mena region, which helped push occupancy levels above 90 per cent. Many properties were completely full.

“Last week hotels were fully booked in Dubai, so the demand came back again, albeit at lower rates,” said Mr Mattmueller. “The volume is back and I can see rates coming up again, probably not to the levels of pre-2008. There are a lot of conferences going on, there was the golf this week, you have the tennis coming up. There is always something on.”

Moevenpick has further projects under development in the region in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Oman.

rbundhun@thenational.ae

The five Starwood hotels in Abu Dhabi are joining the Choose Wisely Campaign with an aim to replace overfished local species with more sustainable options.

Todd James Hunter, Dominique Morin, Christophe Gavois, Markus Fisler, Olivier Loreaux

Starting in 2011, Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort, Le Royal Meridien, Le Meridien Hotel, Sheraton Khalidiya Hotel and Aloft Abu Dhabi Hotel are introducing sustainable fish dishes based on the consumer guide developed by Choose Wisely- an awareness campaign launched by Emirates Wildlife Society in Association with World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF).

Starwood Abu Dhabi hotels are the first hotel group in the city to officially join the campaign, leading the way towards increased awareness of sustainability in the hospitality industry.

With currently over 80% of the worlds main fish stocks considered as fully exploited, over-exploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion, the main goal of the Choose Wisely Campaign is to address the problem of overfishing in the UAE and its associated environmental impact. The Choose Wisely Campaign was launched by Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF as part of its sustainable fisheries program, with an aim to raise consumer awareness to the problem of overfishing in the UAE and encourage action from concerned stakeholders.

The five Starwood hotels in Abu Dhabi decided to support this initiative together in order to maximize the impact and the educational effect of the campaign. From January 2011 onwards, guests will find special Choose Wisely buffet tags in the restaurants, special icons in the menus and diverse educational material in all participating outlets. Fish species marked as green are considered a sustainable choice with plenty of stock available in the UAE, red marks, on the other hand identify threatened species, advising customers to think twice and choose wisely.

We started to introduce the campaign recently in one of our hotels and realized that there is a high demand for sustainable options in the market said Thomas van Opstal, Area General Manager of the Starwood hotels in Abu Dhabi. As Executive Chefs of some of the leading hotels in Abu Dhabi, we have an important responsibility towards the local community and the environment. In the end, the purchasing decision and product development is with us and we can make a considerable impact on the environment. We see this initiative as a leading way in the hospitality industry and would welcome other hotel chains to follow our example stated Mr. Christophe Gavois, Executive Chef at Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort.