Properties in Dubai more affordable than suburban Mumbai: Danube Group

Dubai’s leading ‘affordable housing’ player Danube Group has seen a 30 per cent increase in global Indians buying property in the city following the pandemic.

The attraction, especially for Indians living here, is that property is more affordable than in the suburbs of Mumbai and the returns on investment in rentals are more attractive given the large and stable  expat population.    

“About 45-50 per cent of our residential properties in 2022 were bought by Indians across the world including the UAE, the US, Canada and other GCC countries, apart from India,” said Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of the Danube group.

He said Indians living in India accounted for 25 per cent of the total sales.

Pointing to the comparison, Rizwan said properties located between Santa Cruz and Andheri in Mumbai are currently available at Rs 50,000 -100,000 per square feet, while in Dubai luxurious, fully furnished properties are available at Rs 34,000 to Rs 60,000 per square feet of carpet area in the best locations.

The facilities in properties, he said, match those available in top-of-the-line properties in India: sports centres, theatres, gyms, swimming pools, restaurants etc.    

The Danube group has a rental services company  which offers a 6 per cent return on investment after taking into account all service charges. It rents out the property for short periods for the owner.

“Look at the difference in Mumbai where you will be happy with a return of 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent. Here you have an assured return on rentals,” said Rizwan, who was born in Mumbai.

Danube has been holding road shows in Mumbai and Delhi and other metros and also smaller towns such as Bhubaneswar and Srinagar to sell its properties.

Rizwan entered the market at a time when it was ruled by top builders concentrating on the luxury end of the market.  He decided to create a niche for expats and also many local residents who also wanted to buy their own property after realising that around 80 per cent of them lived in rented apartments.

He focused on providing affordable housing of around 400-500 square feet, fully furnished and for Rs 1.25 crore. He offered a 1 per cent payment plan per month, with a 20 per cent down payment, based on the calculation that most expats had enough savings to pay the upfront money.

Danube is now cashing in on the growth of real estate which has happened post-pandemic. Before Covid-19, Rizwan used to do one or two projects annually. Last year, he did five projects, closing with two million square feet of space. This year, he plans to cross four million square feet of space.

WHY INDIANS ARE ATTRACTED TO DUBAI REALTY

· Indian investing in real estate has gone up by 30 per cent post-pandemic in Dubai, says Danube.
· Properties in Dubai are cheaper than in the Mumbai suburbs;
· Rental returns far higher than key Indian cities;
· Properties available from Rs 1.25 crore onwards;
· 1 per cent per payment plan with 20 per cent up front has made property affordable for home buyers.