Dubai Freehold Property
As the emirate of Dubai is not rich with oil like Abu Dhabi, Dubai has always focused on the development of its economy by establishing itself as a trading hub between the East and West. In addition to this, it is also establishing itself as the tourism destination for the region, so it has worked heavily on the promotion of real estate development.
The Dubai government began the promotion in 1997 with the setup of the publicly quoted Emaar Properties and Al Nakheel Properties. A year later, Emaar began work on Dubai Marina and followed this by the development of the Emirates Living Community developments (The Springs, The Meadows, Emirates Hills, The Views). The Emirates Living Community developments were first announced on leasehold basis, but unfortunately weren't a big success in the market.
The major property boom in Dubai occurred in May 2002, when Dubai's crown prince General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoom issued a decree to allow foreigners to buy and own freehold property in selected areas of the city, know referred to as New Dubai. The same month also witnessed the announcement of Nakheel's manmade island, The Palm Jumeirah, which followed a year later by the second man-made palm-shaped island, The Palm Jebel Ali. All previously developed leasehold property was automatically transferred to freehold.
After the initial property boom, various new developers joined the market, the most popular of which are Damac Properties, Dubai Properties (Estithmaar Realty Fz), and ETA Star Properties. Freehold property in Dubai is currently limited to areas on Sheikh Zayed Road, Jumeirah, Jebel Ali and along the Emirates Road.
Dubai Freehold Property Law
On the 14th of March 2006, Dubai's government issued its long-awaited law legalising foreign ownership of properties in designated areas of Dubai (article), but doesnt give property owners permanent residence visas or an automatic right to work in Dubai .
