Nakheel plans to hire 250 estate agents to work for a new company selling Dubai homes.
The palm island developer has teamed up with Germany-based real estate brokerage company Engel and Völkers (E&V) to establish a new company.
“Dubai is witnessing an enormous growth in population numbers because of its high quality of life and its geographical location between Europe and Asia,” said Christian Völkers, the chief executive and founder of Engel & Völkers. “That goes hand in hand with a higher demand for top-end property.”
The world’s best performing property market in the year to March has created a feeding frenzy for property brokers as prices approached levels last seen during the 2008 market peak.
But growth has slowed this year following a series of measures aimed at curbing property inflation and averting the risk of another bubble. Home prices tumbled by more than half in the emirate in the wake of the 2008 crash. Property prices gained 3.4 per cent in the first quarter, down from 9.2 per cent growth a year earlier according to Knight Frank.
“There were significant increases in unit prices in Q4 2013 following news of Dubai’s Expo 2020 win and we saw deals flounder as sellers with genuine offers decided to wait in anticipation of further growth,” said John Stevens, managing director of Asteco, the property broker. “Transactions slowed down in established communities where surging prices went beyond what buyers were willing to pay.”
Trading under the E&V brand, the new joint venture expects to open its new Dubai office by October 1, 2014.
scronin@thenational.ae
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