Affordable townhouses for middle income market segment

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Affordable townhouses for middle income market segment
Investors have exhibited strong interest in purchasing low ticket price townhouses through off plan sales since they offer attractive payment plans.

Published: Tue 6 Dec 2016, 2:32 PM

Last updated: Wed 7 Dec 2016, 11:04 AM

Over the last couple of years the property market in Dubai has witnessed the introduction of a new segment of townhouses targeting middle income households to address the strong appetite among such end users for purchasing affordable properties for their personal accommodation purposes. Historically this mid market segment has been well underserved since most of the previously constructed villa and townhouse projects in Dubai focused mainly on upper income households while middle income households looking to own a property had limited choices which were restricted mainly to buying apartments given their affordability.
Accordingly new residential community developments recently launched as part of some key projects in Dubai have offered townhouses with two or three bedrooms that are smaller in size than the regular norm to cater to middle income households. Off-plan sales for these townhouses were launched at prices mostly ranging between Dh1.3-2.4 million and have been successfully absorbed in the market by end users and investors since these price points are comparable to apartments however they provide an opportunity to own a house with the added benefits of garden space and greater levels of privacy than apartments.
In large this trend has been in response to strong interest levels among middle income residents seeking to buy a house within a residential community that provides access to comprehensive facilities and amenities. Moreover these townhouses do not carry a high ticket price or great cost burden for end-users (residents) that aspire to own a house and thus offer a good value for money proposition.
In addition investors have exhibited strong interest in purchasing low ticket price townhouses through off plan sales since they offer attractive payment plans and the property could be rented once it is constructed for generating yields or achieving capital gains over the long term. Investors are also comforted by the fact that a large pool of middle income end users exists in the market who would be interested in renting or purchasing such properties once they are constructed.
To this respect developments which introduced such townhouses have successfully sold most of the units shortly after their launch. This provides a good case in point for other developments to offer more products geared towards middle income households since demand for affordable housing is expected to grow in the foreseeable future.
The writer is the head of real estate at Grmc Advisory Services. Views expressed by him are his own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy.
 

By Atheer Owainati

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