Dubai’s luxury residential market has been seeing some heavy deal-making in recent months
Dubai: There is no such thing as a good or bad time in the property market… not when it comes to selling a Dh55 million home.
That’s the mindset Palma Development is taking for its penthouse at the recently-completed Dh1.3 billion Serenia Residences on the Palm, right on the Crescent.
“Truth be said, these kind of products can be brought out at any point of time,” said Kareem Derbas, CEO. “For someone who’s worth a few million dollars, buying it today or last year does not make much of a difference.
Designed by Hazel Wong
“The only requirement is that he or she should want to investment in Dubai property, for whatever consideration.”
The Serenia Residences, launched in May 2015, is designed by Hazel Wong, who was also the architect behind Dubai’s landmark Emirates Towers.
Fact is, demand for luxury homes in Dubai did have a good 2019, with the consultancy Luxhabitat confirming that the costliest deal was for a mansion at MBR (Mohammed Bin Rashid) City, which sold for Dh90 million.
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A penthouse upcoming project on the Palm, being built by Omniyat, had the second-highest price tag, at Dh74 million.
For the Dh55 million unit, spread over 15,000 square feet, Palma is spreading the word among its clientele and other potential prospects.
Custom details
In an ideal world, Derbas says the unit would have been brought to market some six or nine months ago.
“The project was done, but designing the interior and sourcing the bespoke furniture and all other custom-made details took six months,” said Derbas.
“We wanted this particular unit to be ready to move in the moment someone bought it. We still believe it’s the right time for this kind of property and for this kind of price.
“There’s only so much fancy brochures and nice marketing campaigns can do. No one can really appreciate the views we have on this unit until they actually see it. That’s the whole purpose behind fitting out the entire 15,000 square feet of it.
Of course, there are two additional “presidential suites” at the Serenia, which the developer is leaving bare and for future buyers to do up the way they want it. These units, of 13,000 square feet, have been fixed prices of Dh45 million.
Costliest penthouses to date
Currently, the tag of being the costliest penthouse deals in Dubai property market is held by two units at the same development – The One by Omniyat on the Palm.
One closed at Dh103 million and the other for Dh74 million.
The project is due to complete “post-summer”.
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The Palm also has another super-premium project in full development mode — The Royal Atlantis Residences.
Also on the Dubai shoreline, the Bvlgari homes in Jumeira Bay continue to garner a lot of attention from the very rich.
“Many of the Bvlgari units are similar to the Presidential Suite size at Serenia, and come in the Dh45 million to Dh60 million range,” said Derbas.
“But the Palm’s Crescent will remain a firm favourite… always. And we wanted to keep the focus entirely residential, which is why we did not opt to have the license to operate commercial units on Serenia.”
Moving in
Anyone buying the Dh55 million and Dh45 million units will have lots of company when they move in. Of the 250 units at the Serenia, 180 units are occupied as of now. Average prices are in the Dh4 million to Dh8 million range. (In per square foot terms, around Dh2,500-Dh3,000.)
“We got lucky on one aspect – our launch date in May 2015 represented the last phase of the 2011-2015 boom,” said Derbas. “That ensured we picked up Dh500 million in confirmed sales – within the first 45 days of launch.”
Now, as and when buyers sign on the dotted line for the Dh55 million and Dh45 million units, that would make for a perfect topping up. And with a bit of luck, that’s a doable.
