Tremendous upside for Dubai property: Trump

US property tycoon Donald Trump believes property prices in Dubai are slated to go up as they still are far below their previous peak.

“The real estate in Dubai is going one way… it’s going way up. These numbers are much lower than the numbers from years ago prior to collapse,” Trump, Chairman, The Trump Organisation, said, during the launch of the clubhouse and 104 Trump Estates villas in the $6-billion Akoya by Damac master development in Dubailand.

“These numbers have a long way to go before they catch the number of years ago… today they have tremendous control, checks and balances, and people doing them are putting their own checks and balances. I think Dubai has got a tremendous upside.”

Trump, however, clarified that he would not have said so years ago, but now believes in the “upside potential” as the time was now “different and smarter.”

“I always wanted to come back and pay the great tribute to Dubai. We never forgot Dubai… it was always a place where we wanted to be and, now, we are here in a very big way,” he added.

Average prime apartment prices in Dubai are still about a third below where they were during the 2008 peak, a Knight Frank report said earlier this year, suggesting there was still plenty of scope for prices to rise.

“Hardly any new high-end apartments are due to be delivered over the next 12-18 months (the majority of new prime supply will be made up of villas), further supporting the case that prices in the former segment will play ‘catch-up’,” the UK-based consultancy said.

New real estate reports, released in May by various property consultancies, have shown price appreciation in established areas having slowed down in the first three months of 2014 after having risen by over 20 per cent last year.

-Dubai project is priority

Though not ruling out collaborations with other developers in the Middle East, the real estate magnate, who owns 16 world-class golf properties throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East asserted his primary focus was on the Dubai project, which he aims to make as the “greatest golf community in Asia.”

The US billionaire admitted he was going to invest in the 42 million square feet Akoya by Damac, but did not reveal the figure.

The Trump International Golf Club will run through the centre of Akoya. The golf course, designed by Gil Hanse, is set to be fully grassed by Q1 2015.

Overlooking the second, third, fourth and eighth holes will be The Trump Estates, designed by Ivanka Trump, who is the Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions at The Trump Organisation. Prices start from Dh6.6 million upwards.

--No external funding required

Asked about funding for the mega project, Hussain Sajwani, Executive Chairman, Damac said the company was not in need of any external funding, pointing to their $1.4 billion cash reserves.

“We haven’t borrowed any money for the project. As a matter of fact, we raised $650 million through sukuk and we have quite hefty $1.4 billion in cash,” he said.

Net profit for Damac Properties jumped 79 per cent to $210 million in the first quarter 2014 compared to $117 million in the corresponding period last year.

Booked sales more than doubled year-on-year to $864 million in the first quarter. Nearly 577 units were completed and delivered in the first quarter, with estimated total deliveries standing between 4,000 and 5,000 units for this year.

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