Ajman - Amazing New Property Development Hotspot Minutes from Dubai
United Arab Emirates is the name on everybody’s lips at the moment. Whether it involves launching buyouts for football teams or headhunting British workers for booming industries, everyone has heard of the blossoming seven-state nation on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
Most people think of Dubai when they think of the UAE. The glittering skyscraper-filled skyline and hugely ambitious developments have drawn a flock of property investors and raised a raft of headlines in the UK press and abroad.
But hardly anyone thinks - or has even heard - of neighbouring state Ajman, just minutes away from Dubai, where other savvy investors are now starting to put their money.
Ajman is the smallest UAE state at just 260 square kilometres in size and is offering property investors of any nationality fully transparent freehold ownership on real estate.
The city, originally a tiny fishing village, now borders Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain, laying claim to 16 kilometres of unspoilt Gulf coast.
Nearly all of its 37,000 population live in the capital city of Ajman, but the booming construction industry has attracted a huge number of international investors, keen on making money.
Building a property hotspot from scratch
Properties are springing up all over the tiny emirate, including Emirates City, the first development in “New Ajman”, outside the old city, located down the newly-expanded six-lane Emirates Road and just 25 minutes from Dubai. Indeed, the speed of development in Ajman often surprises ex-pats, such as Nigel the author of the blog Seven Days of the Universe, who was ‘amazed’ by its progression.
Emirates City, built from scratch, has more than 100 mid- and high-rise buildings and a number of planned shopping malls, hotels and residential villas.
Properties have rapidly sold out, but remaining two or three-bedroom apartments start at 275,839 dirham (£37,000) each.
Designers eventually plan to extend all the way to the ‘Al Zoura’ beachside development, and, with the announcement of the development of Ajman International Airport starting later this year, property prices could soon go through the roof.
Ajman International Airport, based in the Al Manama area of Ajman, is expected to see about 2million passengers a year after operations begin in 2011.
Townships, resorts and towers galore
Dubai-based real estate developer Sweet Homes announced earlier this month that it is to build a 2.5-billion dirham ($682.8 million) township in Ajman. The 1,500-home residential development will be spread over 37 hectares.
And UAE-based BSEL Infrastructure Realty has launched a $545bn residential project in Emirate City - their planned seven-tower Al Emarat project will rise up to 50 floors.
US-based PKN Group have also announced a 4.3bn dirham ‘Las Vegas-style’ resort to be built in Ajman, with hundreds of apartments, low-rise houses, a shopping mall, an office tower and a five-star hotel.
The new property development hotspot of the UAE
Emirates business website ameinfo.com names the state of Ajman as the development hotspot of the UAE.
It says that AIDA, the government body behind the development of Ajman, has unveiled a semi-governmental company charged with developing its burgeoning real-estate potential.
The first project, dubbed Ajman 1, is a mixed-use 72,000 square metre development, including 12 freehold residential towers built on a podium structure allowing up to four storeys of car parking underneath.
Significantly, each of the 3,000 apartments will have residence visas automatically issued as part of the sales process.
The Ajman 1 development will have access to gyms, swimming pools, children’s playgrounds and family barbeque areas, and is just 20 minutes away from Dubai International Airport.
Property site ajmanproperty.com says the project should be finished in 2010, with prices of the residential towers starting at around 330 dirham per square foot (£45), which compared with the majority of developments in neighbouring emirates, is competitive.
Close to 200 freehold residential towers are either under construction or have been completed since Ajman’s freehold property sector waved the green flag in 2004.
‘Most active’ area for UAE construction
Roger Wilkinson, managing partner of Northern Emirates Property, a Sharjah-based property leasing and management company, said: “All of the northern emirates are witnessing major real estate development, but Ajman is possibly the most active in terms of construction.”
However, real estate companies are only able to offer affordable houses aimed at mid-income earners if they can keep their initial development costs down.
Amir Ameen, director of Star Giga Establishment, said the land price in Ajman for his 700 million dirham Goldcrest Dreams project was around Dh40 (£5.50) per square foot.
At the project launch, the 1,600 apartments within the four-building project started at Dh285,000, for a one-bedroom apartment and Dh416,000 for two-bedroom apartments.
But as Ajman’s amenities increase and transport links improve, prices will invariably climb - good reason for investing now, say property agents.
The city currently lacks mortgage facilities, but once these are introduced, buyers will be able to easily finance bigger purchases, which would in turn drive property prices up.
Other major projects in Ajman scheduled for delivery by 2010 include Horizon Towers, Falcon Tower, and Corniche Tower. Although most of these are developed and financed by the Ajman government, private developers have snapped up some land plots.
For instance, Star Giga Establishment last year launched a Dh700 million freehold residential property development at Paradise Lakes on the Emirates Road.
Any serious investor will know to have a good look around as they plan to put their money into the UAE - and Ajman is raising its claim to be a candidate for serious and profitable property investment.
