quality is key to a healthy dubai property market
Real estate boss urges developers to improve quality standards
The chairman of one of Dubai's major property developers today spoke out regarding the need for higher quality standards within the emirate's property development industry.
According to SABA Properties Chairman, Behrouz Javaheri, many end users and investors are becoming increasingly frustrated by the poor quality standards of some of Dubai's projects.
He said: "Based upon the general feedback from end-users and investors, the quality of many recent developments is currently a major concern within the market. We believe a good number of properties delivered in Dubai appear to be substandard.
"These shortcomings are playing a detrimental factor in investor and end user confidence when making the decision to buy property here in Dubai.
"The situation will be further aggravated as the market continues to shift heavily towards end users, who are particularly conscious and ultimately directly affected by both the materials used and the way the properties are maintained afterwards."
As a result of the apparent quality problems, buyers are increasingly focusing upon the factual quality of materials used in property. It is also becoming more common for large number of buyers to visit sites in order to evaluate the materials being used throughout the construction process.
Javaheri added: "As an extreme example, we had one client who hired a quality control specialist to visit one of our sites after delivery, in order to assess and determine the quality of materials that were used right down to the types of electrical wires."
Alongside quality, investors and end-users are becoming more aware of the advantages of dealing with developers with a reputation for continuous and effective maintenance plans. Due to the harsh climate in Dubai a sound and active maintenance program can substantially slow down the wear and tear factor, and significantly affect the ongoing deterioration of buildings. As a result, preventive maintenance is now becoming a more important factor when experienced buyers are evaluating the future appreciation of their properties.
Javaheri said: "From our experience, some buildings can last up to a third longer with quality materials and good maintenance. However, it appears this attitude is sadly less widespread than it should be - even among some of Dubai's major developers.
"This is one of the areas we at SABA pay much more attention to in terms of time and money spent, as maintenance is of paramount importance for the quality perception of a building.
"Much of the reason some of Dubai's iconic buildings demand such high rents is due to the extremely superior levels of maintenance provided.
"An owner can feel the quality of a development immediately when walking into it for the first time and in turn it has a direct effect on the impression of the developer.
"The word spreads very quickly in this market and will impact upon the future business of the developer."
And there would be serious repercussions for Dubai's property market as a whole if word spreads of poor quality developments.
Javaheri added: "We intend to develop here long term and see anything we build in Dubai as an investment for the future. If our clients are happy then they are the best source of future business for us as word of mouth is so important here.
"We anticipate within the next few years the number of property developers in Dubai will shrink significantly, and those who will survive will have superior structure, resources, organisation, quality products and ultimately solid reputations built from historical performance.
"One of the best tips I can give buyers is to look at previous projects in order to gauge the quality of any properties already on the market from the same organisation.
"Our observation of the market indicates that the overall quality of a large portion of the property projects in Dubai is either average or below standard, which is regrettably not in line with the prestigious worldwide image of Dubai. There are a lot of unhappy buyers out there, and the unfortunate thing is that this could have been prevented by a bit more spent on quality by developers.
"At SABA Properties we are trying to upgrade each project by looking back at projects we have already completed. This will be demonstrated by our new SABA-4 Office Tower project, which we intend to use as a flagship for all our future projects, as we have incorporated so much of what we have learned from our previous developments."
According to Javaheri, the market will force this situation to improve.
"Market forces will ultimately press out the developers who are not delivering the highest quality. A good reputation is among the top assets for developers and, as demand levels out, quality and effective maintenance programs will play a much more prominent role within the market.
"It is not all negative, as there is a great opportunity for developers here to capitalise on the successes of Dubai. What we see today is nothing compared to how the city and the emirate will look in five years.
"Dubai is going to act like a magnet for Middle East business and, as it continues to become more professional and business-oriented, demands for high quality products will continue to increase.
"Delivering quality homes and offices should not be difficult as Dubai is blessed with access to the highest quality materials at reasonable prices and less bureaucracy than is found elsewhere in the region. Excellent infrastructure and logistics and the direct presence of some of the world's top suppliers mean there is no excuse for developing poor quality real estate."
