A townhouse in Arabian Ranches will go under the hammer at the Dubai Land Department today with the reserve auction price set at Dh1.5 million.

The prices of similar properties in Arabian Ranches are close to Dh1.8 million, according to agents.

A similar townhouse on propertyfinder.ae has a listing of Dh1.88 million.

Each bidder has to pay 20 per cent of the initial price of the auctioned property by cheque to the official at DLD's Tasarufat department. Cheques will be returned to unsuccessful bidder

The question dealers and agents are asking is - will it get sold?

“The price is merely 20 per cent lower than the average listing prices of similar townhouses. Moreover, you are not allowed to inspect or check the property… you just buy it,” said an property expert, requesting anonymity.

“I believe the property might have been foreclosed some years back since it takes a lot of time for them (banks) to get the permission to auction these properties. Buyers are smart now. They want to check the property before taking any decision. In this case, the price discount might not be 'too' much for the buyer who may have to spend on undertaking repairs on the property,” he added.

The property auctioned covers a total area of 3278 square feet and is a Type 3 townhouse in Al Reem 3.

In May, Barclays Plc, which had won the first foreclosure order in Dubai in 2010, managed to sell a villa in the Springs community at a public auction for Dh1.22 million. The reserve price was Dh1.2 million.