Twin-tower project in MBR Boulevard will be completed in June 2017 Dubai-based Emaar Properties on Saturday started selling apartments in Burj Vista, a luxurious twin-tower project in Downtown area, at an average price of Dh2,000 per square feet. A company registered agent, who bought a one-bed apartment at around 9.30 am, said: “Since I have bought an apartment at a higher floor; I paid Dh2,055 per square feet. The average price would be in the range of Dh2,000 per square feet.” He added: “We were told that only 300 to 400 units will be sold today. There are people standing in the office which tokens. Everyone who is going is buying something.” The twin-tower will be completed in June 2017.The payment terms, that has been offered, is as follows: 15 per cent down payment; 10 per cent in September 2013; 15 per cent in March 2014; 10 per cent each in March and November 2015; 10 per cent in March and 15 per cent in November 2016 and 15 per cent on completion in June 2017. On Wednesday, it was reported that the online registration Burj Vista had closed in about 30 minutes. “Yes, we did manage to register online, but it closed in 30 minutes. Since the registrations were online, we will hopefully not see people queuing up like before,” an Emaar registered agent said on conditions of anonymity. Located on Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, Burj Vista consists of two identically designed towers, one 20 storey high and the other at 65 storey, with 120 and 520 luxury apartments, respectively. Other amenities include a fully-equipped gymnasium, children’s play areas, multimedia hall, business centre, play room, lounge areas, swimming pool and kid’s pool, badminton and half a basketball court, relaxing reading areas and lushly landscaped areas. All the projects - Mira townhouses in Reem; The Address The BLVD; The Address Residence Fountain Views and The Address Residence Sky View in Downtown Dubai - Emaar said have recorded overwhelming response.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc and Investment Corporation of Dubai have announced a key appointment ahead of the launch of a $1bn fund which will target UAE real estate assets.

The companies said Douglas Kirkman, senior vice president of the Brookfield Property Group, has been appointed as CEO of ICD-Brookfield Management Limited, which will manage the fund. He will be based in Dubai.

The ICD-Brookfield Dubai Real Estate Fund, once formed, will pursue opportunities in the Dubai real estate sector with a particular focus on development opportunities.

The manager of the fund is jointly owned by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management and Investment Corporation of Dubai.

Investment Corporation of Dubai is the investment arm of the government of Dubai and holds stakes in more than 30 companies, including Emaar Properties, developer of the world’s largest mall and tallest tower, and Emirates Airlines.

Prior to assuming his current position,Kirkman worked for the Blackstone Group, where he helped set up their Indian real estate business and led their drive into Turkey.

The fund, which was first announced in October 2011, will be capped at $1bn. The two companies will anchor the fund, with a limited number of local and international parties invited to invest in the scheme, a statement said at the time.

Property prices in Dubai soared after the city opened its real estate sector to foreign investors in 2002, granting them freehold ownership rights at many developments.

From start-2007 to mid-2008, prices rallied almost 80 percent, Morgan Stanley estimates showed, with billions of dollars worth of new projects launched by local developers.

But home prices in Dubai, the Gulf property market that had the biggest reversal because of the financial crisis, fell more than 60 percent in the wake of the global credit crunch.

Now, house prices in Dubai are showing signs of recovery, with rises in prime projects such as Palm Jumeirah and Arabian Ranches.

Dubai has recently unveiled a slate of mega projects including the Mohammed Bin Rashid City.

No value has been given for the entire MBR City project which will comprise four key components.

The first component will focus on family tourism, and will include a giant park, equipped to receive 35 million visitors and a family entertainment centre set up in collaboration with Universal Studios and hotel facilities.

The second component, focusing on retail, will feature the largest shopping mall in the world called Mall of the World. Dubai already boasts the largest mall in the world, Emaar's The Dubai Mall.

A third component will include the largest area for arts galleries in Middle East and North Africa while the fourth fourth component will see the development of facilities to provide "an integrated environment for entrepreneurship and innovation in the region".

Dubai’s Nakheel will build 170 new apartments on its flagship development Palm Jumeirah as part of a new project called Azure Residences, the firm said on Monday.

Construction work on Azure Residences, located on the eastern shoreline at the base of the Palm’s trunk, is expected to begin mid-2013 and be completed within two years, the developer said in a statement.

The beach-front development will feature 140 one-bedroom apartments priced at AED2.3m (US$626,000) and 30 two-bedroom units priced at AED4.2m.

The announcement follows two weeks after the government-owned developer said it would build 33 studio apartments as part of a new project called Club Vista Mare, also on the Palm Jumeirah. Nakheel said the project has since sold out.

Nakheel, one of the worst hit in Dubai’s property boom, has been slowly recovering from Dubai’s crippling real estate collapse.

The developer, which was brought under direct government control as part of the restructuring of its parent Dubai World, said last month it had delivered around 4,000 units to its customers since the start of its restructuring in August 2011.

The firm reported a 57 percent rise in annual profit for 2012 while revenues increased 91 percent to AED7.8bn. The developer awarded construction contracts valued at more than AED1.4bn for new projects, including Dragon Mart Phase 2 and Palma Residences, last year.

The developer expects to hand over around 3,000 units to customers in 2013.