A home with hotel facilities? Azizi launches serviced residences in Dubai

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A home with hotel facilities? Azizi launches serviced residences in Dubai
A scale model of Azizi Developments' projects in Al Furjan community in Dubai.

Dubai - The biggest private sub-developer in Al Furjan makes foray into hospitality sector

by

Deepthi Nair

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Published: Mon 18 Apr 2016, 3:16 PM

Last updated: Mon 18 Apr 2016, 5:21 PM

For people to capitalise from all that Expo 2020 has to offer, they have to buy property now, at today's low prices, says Farhad Azizi, CEO and vice-chairman of Azizi Developments.
And the developer is quick to facilitate this by offering investors and end-users a plethora of investment options. Besides a bevy of residential units in Al Furjan, where Azizi is the biggest private sub-developer with 24 plots, the group is now testing the hospitality waters by launching two serviced residences.
The Dh460 million project comprises Candace Aster and Candace Acacia, which will be run and managed by Candace Hotel and Resorts. Construction has already begun and the serviced residences will be delivered by the third quarter of 2017.
Buyers can choose to either live in the units, rent it out to tenants or avail the services of Candace to lease and manage the units on their behalf.
With 80 per cent of the first building already sold out, it speaks volumes of the untapped market demand for serviced residences in the up-and-coming community adjacent to Discovery Gardens.

Buyer mix
"A lot of our buyers are GCC nationals, followed by Indians and Pakistanis. It's been a mix of investors and end users," explains Azizi. "The area is very popular. There are many people waiting to rent units in Discovery Gardens and The Gardens. So, this is a good value proposition for investors."
Candace Aster features 227 apartments with 160 studios, 58 one-bedroom and nine two-bedrooms whereas Candace Acacia features 316 units with 236 studios and 80 one-bedrooms. Sizes range from 440 sq ft to 1,380 sq ft.
A studio is available at a price of Dh433,000; a one-bedroom will cost you between Dh800,000 to Dh1 million and two-bedroom units are priced at Dh1.2 million. Azizi estimates that investors can get a 10 to 12 per cent return on investment on the units.
The service charges at Candace will be comparable to those in Al Furjan, which is around Dh10 to Dh15 per sq ft.
Facilities include a gym, swimming pool, kids' pool, restaurants, cafe, room service, laundry and valet parking. All the apartments will be fully furnished. Positioned around 50 feet away from the proposed Metro line, the location also provides easy access to business zones such as Jebel Ali, Dubai Investments Park, Al Maktoum Airport and the Expo 2020 site.

Tourist influx
"This is the best time to invest in long- and short-term serviced homes. The Dubai government plans to double the number of tourists from 10 million to 20 million over a period of 10 years. This opens up a host of investment opportunities, particularly in the hospitality sector," Azizi adds.
The group plans to launch over 2,000 serviced residences by December 2016. Six to seven buildings in Al Furjan will be serviced residences. Azizi also has land holdings in the Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Healthcare City.
Starting this month, Azizi is expected to deliver eight projects at Al Furjan - Azizi Feirouz, Azizi Yasamine, Azizi Liatris, Azizi Orchid, Azizi Iris, Azizi Daisy, Azizi Tulip and Azizi Freesia during 2016.
Defying rumours of a market slowdown, the company witnessed around Dh800 million worth of sales in 2015 for its projects in Dubai.
"Our figures are robust: Last April, we sold only 25 apartments. This April, we have sold more than 200 apartments. We are not experiencing a sales slowdown. Low oil prices, the Chinese stock market weakness and a strong US dollar are contributing to the weak sentiment. But Dubai is a city that can weather tough market conditions. Other such comparable cities are Hong Kong, Sydney, New York and Singapore," Azizi concludes.
- deepthi@khaleejtimes.com

Farhad Azizi, CEO and vice-chairman of Azizi Developments, Claude Sakr, regional sales director, Azizi Developments; Eileen Green, customer service manager, Azizi Developments, at an event to mark the launch of serviced residences in Al Furjan in Dubai on Monday.
Farhad Azizi, CEO and vice-chairman of Azizi Developments, Claude Sakr, regional sales director, Azizi Developments; Eileen Green, customer service manager, Azizi Developments, at an event to mark the launch of serviced residences in Al Furjan in Dubai on Monday.

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