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Dubai was the first emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to get involved in freehold real estate, at a time when UAE and GCC nationals were only permitted to own property in the United Arab Emirates.
Buying real estate in the Emirates is slowly changing and becoming more available to expats.
Property is cheap in absolute and relative terms. For example at this moment, an average villa will cost around $1,000 per square metre in comparison to London Docklands where it would cost $5,000 per square metre. There are very few modern cities in the world where high-standard property is priced so low.
A fundamental influence on property prices are raising building costs. The low US dollar is pushing up the cost of materials from Europe which is pushing energy prices to its peak.
Dubai is a city where a lot of people earn high tax-free salaries and are in a position to support higher house prices. This is a city with a 20-year track record of strong economic growth and will continue to attract foreign and regional inward investment.
Over 3.4 million tourists visited Dubai in 2001 and this figure is expected to grow to in excess of 6.0 million by 2010. Dubai is going from strength to strength.
Properties are appreciating steadily at the rate of 10% - 15% per annum, (for some developments even greater). It is estimated that by 2009, based on current growth, your initial financial investment is expected to at least double.
Dubai is in the process of creating an international property market from scratch, with foreign ownership of freehold only introduced last year. Thus buyers are given an exceptionally good deal to encourage them to be pioneers.
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