A Little Piece of Dubai in the Sky

When I arrived in Dubai back at the end of June the amount of tall buildings and tall buildings being built is something that you can not help but notice. At the time I was ignorant of the Burj Dubai tower and surrounding development. However after finding out that the Burj Dubai is goaled to be the world's tallest building had led me to following its progress closely.

June the 28th the Burj Dubai was 54 stories high. Just recently the tower passed the 100 floor mark and had has joined the league of only six super-tall buildings in the world that are 100 or more. I find this startlingly a floor every 3days! The final height of the tower is a closely guarded secret but it is thought it will be at least 800 meters and maybe as high as 900 meters with over 160 usable floors.

Across Dubai there are numerous other tall buildings going up being built by the major developers Emaar, Nahkheel, Dubai Properties and Damac. By far and away the largest is Emaar whose projects in Dubai Marina, Downtown and villa developments such as the Springs, the Meadows and Emirates Hills have all been in staggering demand from new release and on the re-sale market. This has been predominantly driven by the lack of completed properties and influx of expatriates (like myself) coming to Dubai as well as people speculating on this fast moving market. The net effect of this is that rent is expensive - though now capped at only 7% a year (a great move) and the housing market continues to surge.

As a result of this I have made the decision to buy into the Emaar dream, and have purchased an apartment in Dubai Marina. It will be a year before it is ready but I can watch it being built from my current rented apartment. Quite a unique position...roll on January 2008