Summer. A vast, sweaty, lumbering monstrosity that looms large in the imagination at this time of year, as the temperature, incrementally increasing, threatens to become less and less endurable. Shirts grow thinner, shorts get shorter, parasols appear and sun cream is slathered on every exposed surface, human or otherwise.
Which is why a five-bedroom penthouse in Dubai Marina, at a mere Dh25,000,000 – with a private pool – could be the perfect safeguard against Apollo’s seasonal fury. It’s the perfect place for a swimmer, and if you’re feeling sociable, there’s also a shared outdoor pool.
One of life’s greatest pleasures is to be submerged in cool, temperate water, soaking decadently, while all around you are heat-stricken. The penthouse, in the aptly named Ocean Heights apartment complex, has five bedrooms, a private gym, steam room, and sauna – a wide variety of tools for stabilising your body’s core temperature.
The flat overlooks, well, everything. At 310-metres high and with balconies wrapped around every face of the building, you’ll quickly realise you’re on the top floor of the fifth largest residential tower in the world. The Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Golf Course are particular highlights. Each of the penthouse’s exterior-facing rooms has a long bank of windows, meaning future residents will enjoy views of the seascape and cityscape wherever in the house they may be.
The house is bundled with six parking spaces – one for each Maserati – and seven and a half bathrooms. It even has a “smart home system”. Buyers should hope that it does not embark on a 2001: A Space Odyssey-style rampage.
Your flat also has a private lobby, which allows you to leave guests to stew in a waiting area as you climb out of the pool and put on a bathrobe or smoking jacket.
q&a good time to test the water?
Is now a good time to buy a house in Dubai Marina?
According to data from Cluttons, prices are rising at a fast clip. In January last year, you could by a space in a high-end apartment in the Marina for Dh1,350 per square foot – this figure rose to Dh1,900 per sq ft at the end of last month. This penthouse is on the market at Dh2,268 per square foot.
What’s driving the increases?
A booming economy, attractive returns in the housing market, and the stability of the UAE compared to the post-Arab Spring Middle East are all likely to have an impact.
How does this compare to 2008?
Prices in Dubai Marina at least have not reached 2008 levels, and increases have been much slower. Over the past year, prices have been rising by about Dh50 per square foot each month, which is a much slower rate than the pre-crash period, in which prices rose by Dh77 per sq ft each month.
What does this mean for househunters?
Price rises are often a sign of capacity constraints, as availability grows slower than demand. The market is definitely heating up – whether it is overheating and will boil over, or whether it is just simmering, depends on the level of spare housing capacity and how volatile demand is. The 2008 price crash was caused by the worldwide financial crisis: more dramatic demand-side shocks are difficult to imagine.
abouyamourn@thenationalae
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