Condos flood the market on Palm Jumeirah

Arguably the eight wonder of the modern world, and certainly a landmark in the global real estate industry, the Palm Jumeirah is suffering from something far more mundane these days, an oversupply of apartments.

Just over a year ago the prestigious first Shoreline apartments were delivered on the Palm Jumeirah by Nakheel, a low-rise development of mansion-style condos with a private beach and health club.

Boom goes bust

The timing was not good. Owners got their keys just as the credit crisis poleaxed the Dubai boom and brought this party to a sudden end. Those who wanted a quick resale at high prices were disappointed.

A year later and there are still quite a number of these impressive condos available on the resale market, albeit at far lower prices. There have been complaints about the maintenance of swimming pools and the absence of sea views for many apartments, but this remains a prestigious and convenient location in New Dubai.

Imagine the horror of owners then as the Palm Jumeirah property market is being flooded with new apartment developments this autumn, admittedly more densely packed and without quite such exclusive facilities.

An advert on the front page of the Gulf News freehold supplement asks: ‘Have you seen the Tiara Residences yet?’ (see above). Probably not but you can bet that the owners of the Shoreline apartments have noticed these handsome blocks on their doorstep, complete with a beach, pool and gym for the owners.

Then again Rustar Real Estate has a full page advertising sales in the six mid-rise blocks of the densely packed Palm Jumeriah Marina Residence, just before the fronds of the palm actually start.

The Golden Mile

Or if you do not mind waiting a while consider The Golden Mile, a dense development of apartments on the opposite side of the trunk to the Shoreline apartments.

I rather like the Palm Jumeriah apartments and think this is going to be a great location when it is finished, and that is not going to take long. There are sea views if you choose carefully and a nice mixture of leisure facilities and easy access to New Dubai.

The question is more over the price and on that side the supply position does not bode well for the immediate future, quite apart from the question mark that stands over how long it will take Dubai to recover from the current economic slump.