Hyderabad, July 21: If you think that Indians’ appetite for real estate has got reduced due to the slow down, then you better revisit your opinion. An Emirate firm is still ready to bet on India as a good market not merely for domestic realty but also for luxury properties overseas.
“India still has considerable number of people who could invest in property, especially in the United Arab Emirates,” explains Mr Ralph Chkaibane, director (sales) of UAE-based RAK Properties.
According to Future-Brand’s Gulf Real Estate Study, Indian investors were involved in nearly a quarter or 24 per cent of sales by value in Dubai — the neighbouring sheikh-dom of Ras al Khaimah.
The Emirate firm was in Hyderabad to target their high-net worth individuals in the city for its new $3.7 billion holiday resort project Mina Al Arab. Mr Chkaibane said Hyderabad is the first city to launch their road show because of it has historically shared strong business relations with the UAE. Currently, Indian customers have bought around 20 per cent of the completed town house and villas.
Mr Chkaibane said each town house would cost around Rs 2.75 crore to Rs 3.25 crore and each villa would cost Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore.
Ras al Khaimah, one of sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates, is also seeking foreign investors to finance businesses, property and tourism ventures to spur economic growth. The sheikhdom, whose economy has grown by average 14 per cent annually from 2004 to 2008, expects to see the growth moderating to 12 per cent.