MAG 218 Tower Sales


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Wednesday, December 13, 2006

5% Price Rise

Word from MAG PDD is that prices of remaining units were increased by 5% post Cityscape Dubai (see details). This is normal practice, as such events are used to push sales by offering pre-launch or other promotions. Beyond this the developer expects further price rises to be warranted within the coming months.

Why? Perhaps developers are pushing to the edge of what they feel the market can bear. If the market were strictly Dubai then one might conclude that buyers are in no position to bear further increases in prices as they have been hit by extreme cost of living rises over the past few years. The market, however, is of a global nature where developers can target buyers specifically from those regions with higher prices.

In the case of the MAG 218, as fewer units remain unsold, it is logical that the developer will attempt to raise prices on the remaining stock. All of the 330 1-bedroom units are said to have been sold.

So, what are current prices? The developer prefers to respond to individual inquiries than release a price list. The price chart prepared here in July 2006 may serve as a general indicator of prices. The listed value will need to be marked up by 5%, or more, should additional price rises take effect.

MAG PDD GM Mohammed Nimer (left) and this site's author, Bruce Dauphin at Cityscape Dubai. (6-Dec-2006)


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Sunday, July 02, 2006

MAG 218 Unit Prices

The developer (MAG PDD) is no longer publishing prices for MAG 218 units online. Below, however, is a table which provides an approximate range of prices for units on each floor. This may help the potential buyer, while exact information about available units and prices may be obtained upon contacting the developer directly. In the table below prices are distributed among the 55 floors of the tower containing residential 1- and 2-bedroom units. (There are no studio, penthouse or larger bedroom units.) All prices in UAE Dirham.

MAG 218 Unit Prices*
Floor	1-Bedroom (+AED 5100 per floor)	2-Bedroom (+AED 6900 per floor)
01-10	697,900 - 749,200	1,338,000 - 1,407,200
11-20	754,300 - 800,600	1,414,200 - 1,476,500
21-30	805,700 - 851,900	1,483,400 - 1,545,700
31-40	857,000 - 903,300	1,552,600 - 1,614,900
41-50	908,400 - 954,600	1,621,800 - 1,684,200
51-55	959,700 - 980,300	1,691,100 - 1,718,800

*Prices will vary slightly from the scale above depending on actual unit sizes.

Regarding the position of MAG PDD of not listing prices online, it may be a move to discourage competitor attempts to undermine sales, and it may suggest that buyers are no longer restricted to a fixed price but are allowed to negotiate. However, the most likely rationale is that the developer wants potential buyers to avoid making hasty decisions based on price, before considering all that the MAG 218 has to offer.

While I personally believe such reasoning has merit, I also believe it benefits buyers to have prices for quick comparative analysis of what competing properties have to offer. In this regard, the table above, with approximate ranges, should allow such comparisons.

See additional sales info and other details at Purchasing a Unit in the MAG 218 Tower.


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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Sales in Progress

The days of the mid-day pre-launch sell-out of property are over, almost. While there are still occasions when a project due to limited supply or low-starting prices quickly sells out, the more common scenario is that properties remain on market for a year or longer, and even up to the date of completion.

This is good for the buyer, indicating there is both more choice and more time to decide. Such is the case with the MAG 218. This property is still available. That being said, one should bear in mind that one advantage to off-plan buying is that one in fact has the option to choose his preferred unit. This is important when one considers that not only prices vary from unit to unit, but there are other key factors like views, floor plans, placement within the tower, etc. that can make one unit better for an individual than another.

Delay purchasing until after or near the completion date and what is left to choose will be perhaps the higher priced units or those with less desirable views. While buying off-plan has the disadvantage of forcing long waits on non-income generating investments, it gives the buyer the almost invaluable option of choice.

The MAG 218, over a year past launch, is more than 70% sold out. There is still opportunity for the buyer to have limited choice of unit. There is little variety in floor-plans among the two unit types, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom, and entrances to all units are within short distance from the elevators on each floor, making placement in the tower a less important issue. Therefore, one of the key remaining points of variation is views. Potential buyers may want to take what remains of the opportunity to secure a preferred view—whether SW facing the Dubai Marina canal, NW in the direction of the sea, NE toward the Burj Al Arab and Dubai city or SE overlooking the SZR expressway, golf grounds and villa developments.

One more important variable is price—lower at lower elevations—varying more than Dhs 200,000 for identical floor plans with the only difference being height. The first residential floor will start above the podium at about 5 stories above ground, while the top floor (fifty-five) will be at the top of the tower at about 63 stories above ground level. Thirty percent of 550 units being still available means that there are over 150 units to choose from. So, there is still a considerable amount of choice for the buyer.

See Purchasing a Unit in the MAG 218 Tower for more detail about the tower, views, location, etc.


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Saturday, March 04, 2006

MAG PDD floats its latest offer...

It's a last chance offer to secure a purchase at a price which has remained constant since MAG 218 units initially went on sale in March 2005. This follows MAG PDD's earlier campaign to present buyers with free Mashreq Bank certificates worth up to Dhs 10,000. The current move is based on the expectation that a new property law will lead to increased activity in the property market and a rise in prices and values.

While property prices in Dubai rose substantially following the opening of the market in 2002, the pace slowed considerably in 2005, partly a reflection of the larger number of off-plan projects to go onsale. This trend might be furthered once some of these porperties begin to reach completion in late 2006. This proccess should continue unabated as more and more properties are finished in 2007 and 2008 including the MAG 218, scheduled for a mid-2008 completion.

The interim period, however, is likely to see a rise in prices on the heels of the new property law. Regardless of the increase in supply over coming years, some expect prices to continue to climb gradually to rates found in other popular urban centers.

For further details on purchasing, see Purchasing a Unit in the MAG 218 Tower.

Go to MAG 218 Community homepage.


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Thursday, February 02, 2006

Prices to Rise April '06

MAG Group PDD has decided to increase the price of unsold (available) apartments in MAG 218 Tower by 10% starting from 2nd April 2006...

For those considering a purchase, now is a purdent time to buy, not only due to the upcoming price increase but also with regard to the current Mahsreqbank certificates promotion (see current offer) where the buyer can receive up to Dhs 10,000 in free certificates.

For those planning to sell a MAG 218 unit then it would be prudent to wait until after 02 April.

Negotiating? Negotiations over price are not generally practiced by developers or sales agents in the current market. Negotiating payment terms, however, is becoming more common and is possible with MAG 218 purchases.


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Sunday, December 04, 2005

Purchasing a Unit in the MAG 218 Tower

Sales are being handled by the tower developer, MAG PDD, and selected property agents:

Advertisement

MAG PDD's Current Offer
Description:

Available units include 1 and 2 bedroom flats spread over the 55 floors of residential units. (The tower spans a total of 66 floors, including 11 additional floors for parking, recreational facilities and service equipment.)

Prices:

1-bedroom units from ...697,924 (AED) to ..980,345 (AED)
2-bedroom units from 1,338,018 (AED) to 1,718,787 (AED)
Prices represent a 10% increase above the original selling price, as implemented by MAG PDD on 2 April 2006.

Currency Conversion via Google search bar: Enter [600,000 AED in GBP] or [600,000 AED in USD] then Search.

Key Links: