Have you ever thought, “If only I had bought a piece of land in Orlando before Disney?” Or how about, “I wish I had a piece of The Strip in Las Vegas?” Imagine where she would be today if she could have foreseen the future of these exciting cities.
Well, don’t give up now. It is not too late for all the real estate investment opportunities. The trick is to find the next Orlando or Las Vegas and invest now.
DUBAI, SHINING STAR OF THE MIDDLE EAST
So where is the best opportunity today? It is a little-known city that is fast becoming the shining star of the Middle East: Dubai.
Dubai is one of the seven United Arab Emirates and is considered the fastest growing city on the planet. In fact, it has all the makings of a blockbuster of epic proportions. Here are some of the accomplishments and ongoing projects that are helping to put this city on the map:
Burj Al-Arab – The only seven-star hotel in the world
Burj Dubai – The tallest tower in the world
Mall of Arabia – The largest shopping center in the world
Palms Jebel Ali: the two largest man-made islands, with resorts
and entertainment venues, off the coast of Dubai
Dubailand – A collection of six ultra-modern theme parks including 45 mega-projects and 200 entertainment projects in development designed to create a resort venue nearly three times the size of the entire Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
Jebel Ali Port: the largest artificial harbor in the world
Sky-walk: the longest pedestrian bridge in the world
World-class sporting events: Dubai World Cup (the richest horse race in the world), Dubai Desert Classic (golf) and Dubai Rugby Sevens
Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) – proposed financial center for the entire Middle East
Dubai Airport: expansion underway to be able to handle 45 million passengers a year by 2018.
Tax incentives: 100% tax-free business environment
WHAT DO YOU GET FROM THIS?
You can participate in the growth of Dubai. Consider investing in one of their five-star condominiums to be built. Pre-construction opportunities to purchase hotel condominium units in Dubai are now available. And the Americans, Europeans and Asians are seizing the opportunity.
Basically, you are buying a luxurious hotel suite (studio, one, two or three bedrooms) and as the owner, you will share in the income that the hotel unit generates.
How much income? Well, some developers in Dubai actually offer a guaranteed minimum annual return of 8% or 60% of the revenue your unit generates, whichever is greater, for the first three years. After the third year, you are still entitled to 60% of the income, but there is no guarantee.
Will 60% of revenue be significant? Of course, no one can predict the future. But consider these facts. Dubai has the highest hotel occupancy rate in the world! In 2005, it was 86% and has been rising steadily. It also has the highest hotel room revenue in the world, surpassing world-class cities like New York and Paris.
CONDO HOTEL PROPERTY
As a condo hotel unit owner, you can keep your condo hotel for as long as you want. Use it as a vacation home to get away from it all if you wish. When you no longer want it in your real estate portfolio, you can resell it, presumably at a much-appreciated price, keeping 100% of the profit for yourself.
Is this a good time to buy in Dubai? After all, this country is not an established vacation destination like Las Vegas or Florida. But in fact, that’s exactly the reason to buy right now.
Dubai real estate is only a few years old. Entering on the ground floor of a new real estate market has its advantages. Remember, these are premium properties on new land with unimaginable potential. The prices at these five-star condos are extremely reasonable, leaving plenty of room for potential appreciation.
Compare, for example, Trump International in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where a 612-square-foot studio condominium hotel unit was built. ft would cost you over $800,000 today or the Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, where a 600 sq. pie studio will set you back $750,000+.
Comparable studios in Dubai condos start at less than $150,000. In fact, at those prices, you can easily buy a three-bedroom unit in Dubai with enough left over to buy a new his-and-hers Mercedes and a pair of matching camels to boot.
WHY IS DUBAI SO POPULAR?
Dubai is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf, strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. This makes it a gateway to more than 1.5 billion consumers.
With its central location, Dubai is fast becoming the top tourist destination in the region. Over the past decade, the number of visitors to Dubai has increased from 1.08 million to 5.4 million, representing an annual growth of 16%. This growth rate is more than triple the growth rate of world tourism during the same period. In fact, just in the last five years there has been a 54% growth in the number of tourists visiting Dubai.
With an estimated 200,000 visitors a day, Dubai is being designed to attract and host 15 million visitors a year as of 2010. All of this bodes well for condominium hotel unit owners.
BE PART OF DUBAI’S VERTICAL GROWTH
What caused the sudden growth of Dubai? In May 2002, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, in an effort to reduce Dubai’s economic dependence on oil, issued a decree allowing foreigners to buy and sell property for the first time.
The race was on. Investors from around the world jumped in with both feet, recognizing the potential of Dubai with its stable economy, safe political scene, zero income and property taxes, and an unrivaled standard of living.
The result? Today Dubai is the number one emerging market. An estimated $80 billion worth of real estate projects, including the five-star hotel condominiums mentioned here, are now underway in Dubai.
So if you’re still berating yourself for not buying some of those Florida orange groves and cow pastures that eventually became Disney or investing in that desert business that became Las Vegas, this is another one. chance to leave your mark in the sand: Dubai!
For more information on Dubai condominium ownership opportunities, visit http://www.CondoHotelsDubai.com