Dubai's Fact File Revealed

In 1966, the United Arab Emirates discovered oil, after which a period of rapid expansion and development that set up the fundamentals for today's modern society. The oil revenue in Dubai has been wisely spent on infrastructure and to further promote Dubai.

In the early 1970s, a 5 Billion dollar commercial harbour for oil and other such large vessels was design and constructed. The Jebel Ali harbour was the first of the innovative, visionary construction that would usher Dubai to its current level as a global player in the property market.

In 1985, Dubai made the most of its strategic position in the Eastern world by offering ?Free Zones? to international companies to set up offices and use tax-free Dubai as the centre of their Middle Eastern operations.

The UAE and Dubai in particular has never been involved in any conflict whatsoever. It is of no wonder that in this immensely diverse and harmonious population is in fact crime-free. Dubai has even been voted by Interpol as the safest destination in the world for four years running.

In spite of the huge demand for properties in Dubai from the international community, property prices are still lower than other major cities. According to property trend analysts, Dubai properties have been known to sell ?3, 4 or even 5 times at profit over a two-year period. Some Villas on the Palm Jumeirah are now selling at over 200% Premium!?

A major drawing card for Dubai must be the fact that there is zero capital gains tax, stamp duty or VAT, allowing for genuine returns from investment.

It is only in the last 2 years that legislation has come into place to permit the purchase of freehold property by non Dubai Nationals.

An example of the rapid rate at which property in Dubai is being snatched up can be clearly seen by the fact that upon release, the first Palm Jumeirah (Jum-er-a) sold 4000 units in 4 days. Agents in Dubai (without Promotion) took 10,000 reservations against 4000 units.

The government has intervened for the past three years to prevent the aggressive rental market spiralling out of control, thus avoiding unsustainable inflation in the economy. The current rent cap is 5%.

?The projected expansion in Dubai's population will create demand for more than 43,000 additional residential units annually through to 2010?, according to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI)?.

There are numerous projections expected in Dubai, these include:

** Dubai Healthcare City will employ around 20,000 staff

** Dubailand will be home to 300,000 employees

** Halliburton will employ over 45,000 employees across 70 countries), whilst moving their Corporate HQ from Houston to Dubai

** Dubai World Central will have one million employees in total

** The current population of 1.6 million is set to double to 3million by 2010, of which 75% will be ex-pats

** Tourism is expected to triple over the next 5 years to 15million from 2005 to 2010

The fact that Dubai is a tax free society, with zero stamp duty, zero capital gains and income tax is a major factor in businesses seeking to relocate to Dubai.

Another positive factor in Dubai is the fact that Economic growth ranks amongst the highest in the world. This is fuelled by the every increasing growth in Dubai's property market, the current figures indicating a growth of between 20-50% per annum.

The rapid property market growth can in large be due to the 40+ Billion USD invested by government in Dubai's Real Estate.

As Dubai boasts easy accessibility to Asia, The Middle East and Europe, international investors are clambering to be the first in line to acquire accommodation in Dubai.

Dubai welcomes, on average 857 new residents arrive daily, although inflation has accelerated to 10.1% in 2007 (UK was approx 4.2%), this has not stopped the influx of people flocking to Dubai.

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