LONDON: The looming introduction of VAT is encouraging Dubai developers to offer more attractive payment plans, according to brokers.
It coincides with a flood of new homes hitting the market following four years of rampant development fueled by developer stage payment financing schemes.
“Residential developers are wary of not being able to benefit from rebates on the cost of construction materials, should they be unable to sell all units in a development within three years of completion,” said Faisal Durrani, head of research at Cluttons, the real estate consultancy.
“This is already driving ever more favorable payment plans, which extend well beyond handover. Positively, it does mean that we may see an end to the “build it and they will come” mentality that has prevailed for a number of years and developers are likely to carry out better market due diligence and bring forward schemes that are better matched to the local socioeconomic environment and, more importantly, better matched to most households’ budgets.”
Phidar Advisory Managing Director Jesse Downs agreed that developers were offering payment plans both on completion and post-handover — and that the introduction of VAT was one possible reason for the attractive terms.
Developers in the UAE are able to benefit from a zero VAT rate on sales within three years of a project completion.
They are also eligible to claim rebates on the cost of building materials within that period — an obvious incentive to handover properties as quickly as possible.
Property broker JLL estimates that as many as 18,000 new units could be handed over in Dubai this year and spiking to 34,000 next year with another 28,000 due in 2019.
Phidar estimates that total residential sales volumes were down by about 16 percent year-on-year in the emirate in October.
VAT deadline spurs Dubai developers to offer attractive payment plans
VAT deadline spurs Dubai developers to offer attractive payment plans
