Wishing Saudi Arabia a fabulous Happy National Day

Dubai: Dubai’s developers are likely to get even more generous with their offers as they compete to reduce the unsold stock on their books. And unlike in other sectors, the introduction of VAT (value added tax) is not going to impact on developer plans.

In fact, VAT could even be a marketing advantage with off-plan launches. “Introduction of VAT is likely to set off more favourable payment plans from developers,” said Faisal Durrani, Cluttons’ Head of Research. “Simply because of the tax rebates available to developers and the fact that VAT kicks in only three years after completion of development.” (As things stand now, residential off-plan sales are believed to be exempt from VAT.) But the fact is that in the last six months or so, developers here have already been quite generous, many of them waiving registration fees, allowing for a lower payment upfront and the bulk of the instalments to be made after handover.

Developers are also stretching the number of years after handover in which those payments can be made. Two years was the norm and that is slowly inching up to five years and even longer.
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According to Durrani, it should be on the post-handover payment period that developers will focus further. Five years and more could even become the norm. “As such, extended post-handover payment schemes would be a permanent feature of the property market,” said Durrani. “People sense that the Dubai residential realty is nearing the bottom of the current cycle.

​“We don’t think oversupply is going to be an issue in Dubai … as long as the government’s target of doubling the population by 2030 is met.”

Dubai: Some 95.3 per cent of Dubai residents feel safe and secure living in Dubai, latest figures from a survey suggested.

The survey, carried out by Dubai Police’s Public Opinion Survey Centre in cooperation with Criminal Investigation Department in 2016, also shows that 97.8 per cent of people trust in the justice system.

Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs said the study, which included 2,716 respondents of Asian, Arab and other nationalities, was carried out to measure how secure people feel living in the emirate.

Discussing the survey details, Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Al Khaimari, Director of the Survey Centre said the survey measured the security level across different areas during different times of the day. It covered residential areas, markets, parks and places of worship.

He said that 94.3 per cent of people felt secure at these places, during the day or night, while 95.8 per cent said that they did not have to be worried about crimes. Some 96.4 per cent said there were enough police present throughout the day in these areas, even during holidays.

Major General Al Mansouri said the results were not new to the emirate. He said even though there are more than 200 nationalities living in the UAE, they all live in harmony, which has contributed to residents feeling safe and secure in the city.

Lieutenant Al Khaimari added that the harmony and peace between residents was due to the strength of security and people’s confidence in the just judicial system here.

Residents were interviewed by Dubai Police to understand what made them feel safe and secure in the city.

One resident, Dr Mohammad Al Laham, said Dubai is a place where he can leave his car with the engine running at the petrol station while buying things from the convenience store, without worrying about it being stolen.

“I also don’t fear worried while travelling from one emirate to another on highways in the early morning,” he said.
Another resident said she moved to the UAE five years ago and she never felt scared going out late at night.
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“I don’t have to think about closing my purse while walking in a shopping mall because I know Dubai is a safe city to live in compared to other places,” said Sara Demakaling.

​Source: Gulf News