Branded residences in Dubai have smashed records, but who’s buying?

Branded residences in Dubai have smashed records, but who’s buying?

Branded residences have become one of the most talked-about sectors in Dubai real estate, with a report suggesting the emirate has the highest concentration of them across Europe and the Middle East, with some eye-watering prices cited for both ready and off-plan branded properties. In May, luxury auto brand Bugatti revealed it was teaming up with UAE real-estate developer BinGhatti to create Sky Mansions, with a price tag of $204 million This followed the sale of a Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab–branded apartment for $114 million just days earlier, which itself had broken the record for a ready apartment set by a Bulgari property on Jumeirah Bay Island for $33 million. A Savills report showed that Dubai has the highest concentration of branded residence schemes in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), far outstripping the next largest market, London, with the number expected to increase by nearly 120% by 2030. But who is buying these properties, which real-estate experts say outstrip their nonbranded counterparts in average price by nearly AED 1,000 ($272) per sq.ft.? Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Dar Global, the London-listed global unit of Saudi Stock Exchange–listed Dar Al Arkan, said his organisation had sold such properties to