(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) For a new brand, it's often the numbers that do the talking. This rings true for Sobha Group - a real estate bellwether in India but a relatively new entrant in the Dubai property space. The developer hopes its imminent handovers this year, both in District One and Sobha Hartland, will go a long way in establishing the brand in Dubai.
"We are a new company and it takes a certain amount of time to get the brand established. To achieve that, we have to deliver. We will hand over villas in phase one of District One later this year," says P.N.C. Menon, founder and chairman, Sobha Group.
The firm will also hand over 167 apartments in Hartland Greens by December 2017.
Menon believes the fundamentals of the Dubai property market are intact and it's only sentiment that's deferring investments. However, he says the market has entered a positive cycle now.
"This is a very cyclical business. We have just hit the bottom and the market has started picking up. If you are an established player, you can do a lot of sales even during the negative cycle. We expect to be an established brand by 2019. The positive cycle has kicked off in January 2017," he adds.
Quad homes, plots
Meanwhile, launches of quad homes and plots for sale in Sobha Hartland has kept the developer busy. While the 27 quad homes are luxury townhouses featuring a private elevator, there are several plots available along the Dubai Water Canal - to build villas, G+12 apartment buildings, hotels and hotel apartments or a cluster of 13 plots.
"We launched 23 plots on the Canal for residential purposes and they are doing well. Buyers from India and the GCC are our biggest target group," comments Menon.
Sobha will also hand over 48 villas in the $4 billion Hartland project by December 2018. "We have already sold significant number [double digits] in Phase 1 of Sobha Hartland," he adds.
Hartland International School is already functional in the community while construction on the second school will be complete by August 2017.
In the $8 billion District One in Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City, a joint venture with the Meydan Group, Sobha has seen an increase in buyer enquiries and expects to sell villas in phase two by mid 2018.
The developer, which currently operates in the luxury and mid-tier housing market in Dubai, also hopes to eventually tap the budget segment.
"We are still on the job. There will be some clarity in the next six months on our affordable housing project. In any market, there will be a demand for luxury, mid-tier and low-tier housing. We will definitely enter the budget housing segment where you can buy a home from Dh500,000 onwards up to Dh1 million. There is an opportunity there," says Menon.
However, even when it ventures into affordable housing, Sobha promises not to dilute the quality of build and finishing. The developer can do so by leveraging on its in-house competencies to deliver a project from conceptualisation to completion. "We are the only fully backward integrated company in the world," adds Menon.
Referring to the recent demonetisation of high-denomination currency notes by the Indian government, Sobha's chairman says it has only affected sentiment and not the purchasing power of buyers.
"We expect a surge in Indian investments in Dubai property as a result of the recent shift. Now that the money is legal, people are looking at new avenues to recover some of their losses and tax-free returns are very attractive. Dubai is now a very sought-after destination to invest in tax-free property with solid returns for investors and also for end-users who are looking at a second home," Menon adds.
He says it is mostly Indians aged between 35 and 45 years who are now investing in a second home in Dubai. "The Indian government has permitted each family member to transfer $250,000 outside the country. The buying power of upper middle class Indians has increased," he adds.
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Deepthi Nair I cover all things related to real estate in the UAE. Working as a print journalist in Dubai since 2008, I have reported on all the flashy new projects in town. Dubai's passion for setting new records continues to amaze me. I love to do stories that strike a chord with the average expatriate in the UAE. If you have any news related to your community or rents, you know who to get in touch with at Khaleej Times. When I am not working, I travel, catch up with friends, mall trawl, catch up on movies, explore new places in town or just unwind in a spa. Originally from India, I have been a journalist for more than 11 years. Language has been my forte right from school. That's me in a nutshell
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