According to Omniyat’s chairman and CEO, the luxury developer aims to increase its property portfolio by 50% to $15 billion in the next two years through new projects and acquisitions.
Just about two years ago, our portfolio was worth roughly $5 billion. We’ve increased that to $10 billion, which is virtually under construction or has already been delivered, Mahdi Amjad told The National in an interview.
And we intend to increase that figure significantly over the next two years to $15 billion through a combination of residential, hotel, and commercial property.
Omniyat, which was created in 2005, is working on a variety of premium projects in Palm Jumeirah and Business Bay, including The Lana, Dorchester Collection, Ava, and Dorchester Collection at the Palm.
As part of its ongoing portfolio expansion, it just bought a new waterfront property called Marasi Bay Marina from Dubai Holding.
On Tuesday, it unveiled Orla Infinity, the latest addition to the $2 billion Orla portfolio, at Palm Jumeirah, and plans to debut another project in Downtown Dubai by the end of the year. Orla Infinity will have 20 duplex apartments.
According to Mr Amjad, Omniyat’s founder, the business intends to fund projects using a mix of loan and equity.
Omniyat has always had a strong investment side, and we do a lot of private equity at every project level to ensure that [the project]… is properly financed, and that has been our approach for more than 15 years, he added.
We also collaborate with the local financial community.
We have a very clear policy about ensuring that the project is fully paid before we begin building so that there is no disruption regardless of sales cycles.
The housing market in Dubai has recovered significantly from the coronavirus-induced slump, aided by government programmes such as residence permits for retired and distant workers and the expansion of the 10-year golden visa scheme.
According to Knight Frank, the total number of $10 million house sales in Dubai for the first nine months of the year increased 40.7 percent to a new high of 277, driven by surging demand for luxury residences in the emirate.
In the third quarter of 2023, the emirate had a 40.7 percent yearly increase in the amount of home transactions valued at more than $10 million.
According to the research, the volume of residences valued at more than $10 million in Dubai, the Middle East’s economic and tourism hub, was more than $1.59 billion between July and September.
With 189 transactions in the first half of the year, Dubai emerged as one of the world’s busiest marketplaces for sales of more over $10 million. It outranked other major cities such as New York (125), Hong Kong (109), London (99), Los Angeles (77), and Singapore (67).
Omniyat’s sales increased by about 70% in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same time previous year, with consumers from Western Europe, North America, and Asia purchasing property. It anticipates a 70% yearly increase in home sales for the whole year due to increased buyer demand.
However, the corporation did not disclose the overall value of sales.
Mr Amjad believes the fourth quarter will be a great one for the company. We’ve already witnessed great progress, and the prospects for next year look promising.
He also stated that “sophisticated investors” have increased their desire to purchase a home in Dubai.
These worldwide sophisticated investors, many of whom are visiting Dubai for the first time, see Dubai as a location for a first or second home and are involved in property purchases, a trend that has begun to accelerate post-Covid.
According to a research, global high-net-worth people want to spend $2.5 billion on Dubai real estate this year.
According to another Knight Frank analysis, Dubai’s luxury residential market is expected to rise at the fastest pace of any prime market globally, at 13.5 percent in 2023, driven by a demand-supply mismatch and good economic development.
He also stated that Dubai’s pricing remain cheap in comparison to other cities such as London, New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong, which would draw more clients to the emirate.
The firm has no intentions to list its shares on local stock exchanges, but is examining various public market possibilities with authorities to see what is the best model to continue to support our growth, he added without elaborating.
He also stated that Dubai’s pricing remain cheap in comparison to other cities such as London, New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong, which would draw more clients to the emirate.
He stated that the firm has no intentions to list its shares on local stock exchanges, but is evaluating different options on the public market with regulators to see what is the right model to continue to support our growth.