Prime Jumeirah plot sells for Dh87m

A 5,574-square metre prime plot on Palm Jumeirah Pointe, opposite Atlantis, has been sold for Dh87 million, or Dh15,604 per square metre, Nakheel said on Tuesday. “There is healthy demand for properties on Palm Jumeirah. Prices have gone up and investor confidence is back… things are definitely moving in the right direction,” Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah told Emirates 24l7. “People across the Palm are coming to us to get approval on the engineering design,” he added. The Dubai-government owned developer has sold 74 out of the total 105 plots on Frond N for over Dh657 million with residential plot prices increasing by 30 per cent since commenced of sales last year. Lootah revealed on average Frond N plots were sold for Dh860 per square feet, while the remaining stock was likely to fetch them premium. “We are not in a hurry to sell the remaining plots. We are also not planning to sell plots on Frond G… we have retained it as our land bank.” Asteco, a real estate consultancy, said recently that apartment prices in Palm Jumeirah have risen nine per cent to Dh12,900 per square metre in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. On Monday, Nakheel said net profit jumped 33 per cent to Dh1.33 billion in 2011 compared with Dh1 billion in 2010. Early this month, Lootah said property prices on Palm Jumeirah were higher than the pre-crisis level. Last week, Nakheel broke ground on Palma Residences in Palm Jumeirah – the first project to be launched after completion of its restructuring. Thirty units at a combined value of Dh223 million had been sold. Jones Lang LaSalle said on Monday that the Dubai residential real estate market appears to have bottomed out, as prices are now at rates similar to early 2008 levels. Knight Frank said in March that real estate in Dubai had not only stabilised, but prices had gone up 2.3 per cent on average in the last quarter of 2011. Dubai Land Department data revealed property sales soared 54 per cent while value rose 32 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to same period last year.