London Dubai Overseas Property Investment

Arabtec Construction has won the Dhs1.6bn contract from Emaar-Bawadi joint venture for the design and construction of 1437 villas in Dubailand. Delivery in phases is expected over a period of 37 months. The company has reported a total of more than 10,000 villas currently under construction.

Land transactions in Dubai has peaked on Sunday at Dhs330.11m with sales exceeding Dhs171.19m, Gulf News has reported. Dubai Land Department has recorded Dhs158.91m in mortgages and 17 sale transactions. Al Barsha First was sold for Dhs27.8m and was the biggest deal for the day.

The Dubai office market continues to grow, but as more come online, some bargaining power will return to tenants, according to the latest Better Homes' Commercial Review Quarterly Update. This will particularly be the case in Business Bay and DIFC, the report says. Secondary office space costs around Dhs220-Dhs300 per square foot, with primary space at Dhs 250-Dhs450 per square foot.

Major work has begun for the first phase of the Dubai Trade Centre District on Sheikh Zayed Road. Initial excavation work is now being completed, and piling work on the project is also well underway with 3,000 of the 7,000 piles already in place.