Springs villas fetch up to 40% more

Four of the five villas in the Springs community put up for auction at the Dubai Land Department were sold on Monday, with two fetching between 33 and 40 per cent more than their bid price, Emirates 24l7 can reveal.

First on the auction table was a two-bed Springs 15, Street No 4, (1985.53 sqft) villa. It was sold for Dh1.42 million, almost 18 per cent higher than the reserve price of Dh1.2 million.

A two-bed Springs 7, Street No 4, (1879.07 sqft) villa was bought for Dh1.26 million, 40 per cent over the reserve price of Dh900,000.

The third on auction was a Springs 9 villa, Street No 9 (2562.05 square feet) was purchased for Dh2.26 million, 33 per cent more than the base price of Dh1.7 million.

Springs 3, Street No 2 (2298.87 sq ft) was the fourth villa to on auction. It was sold for Dh1.74 million. The base price was set at Dh1.7 million.

The only villa not sold was located in Springs 11, Street 1, (2768.29 square feet). The reserve price was Dh1.9 million.

Emirates 24/7 reported earlier that the Dubai Land Department (DLD) would be auctioning nearly 80 properties this year.

Apartments in Jumeirah Beach Residence, the Greens, Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai will be on the list of auctioned properties.

In March, the department held two auctions with seven freehold properties. Five of the properties were sold with the bidders paying eight per cent to 20 per cent higher than the reserve price.

Global Investment House (GIH), a Kuwait-based investment bank, said earlier that property prices in Dubai appear to have bottomed out in the first quarter of 2012 and are starting to firm up despite the existing oversupply.

“We suspect Dubai residential selling prices could have bottomed out between fourth quarter of 2011 and first quarter of 2012 and are entering a stagnant phase of stabilisation with selective price increases a pattern already materialising in well-established areas and for selective properties,” it said.

Both villa and apartment offerings in Dubai saw minor price increases in the first quarter after stabilising in the second half of 2011, GIH reported.

In March, Asteco, a real estate consultancy, said prices in villa communities such as Springs, Arabian Ranches and Meadows had gone up by seven to eight per cent quarter-on-quarter, while Cluttons, another property consultant, said villa stock had seen optimistic gains with the best performing developments being the Lakes, the Meadows and the Springs.

Growing demand for villas is also resulting in a new problem for real estate brokers - owners are cancelling agreements at the last minute in the hope, or in some cases, in the face of better offers.

The tendency, agents say, is more among villa owners in Springs, Meadows, Arabian Ranches and Jumeirah Islands, where prices have gone up in the past three months. Stock in some of these villa communities is “quite” limited, resulting in a gazumping tendency among sellers.

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