The nine key neighbourhoods that will be connected by the Dubai Metro’s Blue Line are becoming the key focus of the local and foreign property developers, with many new plan projects set to hit the market in the coming years.
As a result, the pipeline of off-plan units is set to see a spike in the coming years, especially in the apartment category.
Consisting of 14 stations, the newly launched Blue Line will connect the emirate’s International City 1, International City 2, Creek Harbour, Academic City, Al Warqa, Mirdif, Silicon Oasis, Ras Al Khor Industrial Area and Festival City with the Dubai International Airport. This will bring travel time between these destinations between 10 to 25 minutes, carrying 200,000 passengers a day to by 2030 and 320,000 by 2040 as the population of these areas will increase significantly.
As reported by Khaleej Times earlier, industry executives and analysts that expect metro connectivity will give a fillip to property prices and rentals by 25 per cent.
Keeping in mind the strong demand for residential units in these areas, developers will increasingly target these areas to launch their off-plan units, which have been the driving force behind the local property market.
Here are a few on-going projects in key areas linked by Blue Line:
International City:
– Warsan Village (estimated value $600m) by Nakheel
– Dragon City Towers (estimated value $196m) by Nakheel
Dubai Silicon Oasis
Tria (estimated value $140m) by Deyaar Property Management
Dubai Creek Harbour (all by Emaar):
– Cove II (estimated value $160m)
– Creek Palace (estimated value $100 million)
– Dubai Creek Tower ($1 billion)
– Creek Waters (estimated value $350 million)
The entire Dubai Creek Harbour is being developed by Emaar and projects worth nearly 66 per cent of the entire development value have been completed while the remaining are in the early stages.
Dubai Festival City
Al Badia Heights Villa Complex (estimated value $150 million) by Al Futtaim Group (under construction)
Wael Makarem, senior market strategist for Mena at Exness, said investing in existing real estate units or construction projects in the areas served by the Blue Line could become more attractive as they could see increased demand for residential and commercial units thanks to increased accessibility.
“The metro line could hasten the development of the areas in proximity to its stations and could help draw real estate investors looking to tap into faster growth areas,” he said.
Route and connectivity
Dubai Metro Blue Line comprises two main routes. The first route begins at the Creek Interchange Station on the Green Line and passes through Dubai Festival City, Dubai Creek Harbour and Ras Al Khor, before reaching Dubai International City 1, which has an interchange station. The route continues towards Dubai International City 2 and 3, extending to Dubai Silicon Oasis and up to the Academic City. This section spans 21 km and features 10 stations.
The second route starts from Centrepoint Interchange Station on the Red Line in Al Rashidiya. It passes through Mirdif and Al Warqaa, concluding at the Dubai International City 1 Interchange Station. The project also includes the construction of a metro depot at Al Ruwayyah 3.
Off-plan launches
According to Property Monitor, new off-plan development project launches remain at record highs, with just over 11,500 off-plan units added to the market for sale with an anticipated combined gross sales value of Dh25 billion. Apartments represent 81.2 per cent by volume while townhouses and villas represent 17.2 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.
Year-to-date, new project launches have exceeded just over 77,000 units and Dh230 billion in aggregate sales value, eclipsing the 2022 yearend numbers by more than 20,000 units and Dh70 billion in value.
With over 100 additional projects in the planning phases being tracked by the Property Monitor, it is anticipated that new launches will maintain their historically high levels for at least the remainder of the year and well into 2024.
Data for the month of October showed that off-plan registrations accounted for 53.9 per cent at the end of October 2023 with 6,534 sales recorded.
Avin Gidwani, CEO at BNC Network, said the prospect of the Blue Line connecting various areas will attract developers’ attention. “The enhanced accessibility and increased appeal of these connected regions will encourage more developers to consider launching projects in these areas, anticipating higher demand and potential growth due to improved connectivity,” he said, adding that these areas will definitely witness an increase in off-plan unit launches within certain key areas that it connects. “In particular, we would expect to see new developments in International City, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai Creek Harbour.”
Farooq Syed, CEO of Springfield Properties, said Metro’s extension will create a positive impact for off-plan developers because off-plan development takes nearly three years to complete.
He added that there is no shortage of land in areas such as Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), Al Jadaf, Marjan, Sports City etc., which can take care of the mid-market segment.
“But those mid-market segments can’t perform well if there is no good connectivity. So these areas when they will have good connectivity via Metro, when rents go up, prices will also reflect that,” said Syed.
Demographic shift
Avin Gidwani sees Blue Line will lead to demographic shifts resulting from improved connectivity to economical housing areas such as International City, Silicon Oasis and Dubai Academic City.
He said by linking major parts of Dubai, this metro extension is likely to spur development in various sectors, boosting accessibility and facilitating growth in the connected areas.
“Currently, access to on-campus student accommodation in Academic City is relatively difficult and expensive. The metro’s connection will likely enhance the campus experience for students, fostering a community that is more integrated with the city. It will also make this key educational environment more accessible to part-time students.
“These connected areas will become increasingly attractive to residents and investors alike, and can be expected to lead to significant development and infrastructure enhancements,” said Gidwani, who heads the largest project intelligence database company in the Middle East and Africa.