The ‘Classified Properties’ option allows registered members to add their own property listings to the website. This option provides members with a platform to market and promote their properties to other aim168realestate.com members, as well as to a wider, international audience.

Aim168realestate.com also launched a ‘Realty Weekly’ newsletter, which would keep the registered members up-to-date on the week’s developments and updates. The newsletters will include featured projects, latest real estate news and the most recent property listings posted on the property portal. Registered members will receive the weekly newsletter based on the preferences they have selected from their members area.

The ‘My Favorites’ section is for registered members to select project developers and areas based on their interests. After selection, each member is greeted with a personalized page based on what they selected, when they log in to their members area.

The aim168realestate.com portal effectively reaches a global audience and provides international exposure to the Dubai property market and real estate opportunities based in the other emirates.

Aim168 Real Estate is a Dubai-based real estate brokerage, involved in the lease and trade of varied commercial and residential properties in the UAE, with its current focus being the booming market of Dubai. Future expansion will include Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Umm Al Quwain and other neighboring GCC countries.

Aconex provides a web-based platform for managing project information such as drawings, documents and correspondence.

Through using the system, Gulf Holdings and its project partners will be able to view, track and share their data in real-time using a secure, central platform.

This reduces the time and cost associated with using paper documents and streamlines communication between organizations.

Villamar at the Harbour is being built on an island in the heart of the business district of Manama, the capital of Bahrain.

It will be one of the region’s most sophisticated developments and the first luxury residential complex of its kind to be built in the Bahrain Financial Harbour.

The development will be located on a prime 32,000 square meter waterfront site and will comprise apartments, exclusive villas and penthouses.

The development also includes health club & spa, swimming pools and a boardwalk which will host cafes, restaurants and other leisure facilities.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Steve Flanagan, Senior Project Manager at Gulf Holding Company, said: ‘Aconex is ideal for the collaborative environment of the construction industry. We have consultants in the UK and Dubai so using Aconex will improve communication between parties. We handle a huge amount of documentation and the system will allow us to store all our data in one place where it is easily accessible – whenever anyone asks for drawings we will be able to issue them straight away. The system will keep an accurate record of documentation throughout the project which will be highly beneficial in the long run.’

Leigh Jasper, Aconex Chief Executive Officer, said: ‘Villamar is one of Bahrain’s landmark developments. Over its lifecycle, we expect that hundreds of thousands of drawings and documents will be created, that will need to be shared between the numerous parties involved in the project. Being able to effectively control this flow of information throughout the project will reduce exposure to risks such as delays, disputes and reworks.’

Jasper added: ‘Gulf Holding’s projects such as Villamar and Downtown Al Areen are world-class developments that are helping to position Bahrain as one of the most attractive real estate markets in the Middle East.’

The signature of the Villamar development is its five precincts: The Lifestyle Apartments, Terrace Podium, Sky Villas, Terraced Villas and the Twisting Towers.

These are designed to emulate the ocean, the wind and sky. Villamar at the Harbour was recently awarded the ‘Best Real Estate Project of the Year 2008′ at the Arabian Business Awards.

6,100 Nakeel units sold
In the year to date, more than 6,100 Nakheel units have been sold (97%) or reserved (3%), exceeding the developer’s own ambitious targets.

Unit sales in 2008 comprised more than two thirds apartment sales (68%), over a quarter villa sales (27%) and 5% land plot sales.

These units were released in 13 staggered launches between 1 January and 31 August 2008.

A further 2,650 units are set to be released in 11 additional sales launches scheduled for the final quarter of 2008.

Nakheel developments
The three Nakheel developments accounting for the largest volume of sales were Badrah Manara apartments, with almost a third of sales by volume (32.2%); apartments in Lake District, with 15.2% of the total; and Al Furjan villas, making up 14.7% of sales by volume.

Manal Shaheen, Director of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service at Nakheel, said: ‘We are delighted but by no means surprised by this year’s phenomenal sales success. Demand for Nakheel’s Dubai properties continues to rise across residential and commercial sectors, and we see no signs of this demand abating – despite recent gloomy predictions from one or two analysts.

This year’s sales have even been immune to the usual summer dip in July and August, which indicates just how healthy the market is.

If you compare the expansive vision of Dubai to the construction capacity constraint, which is currently around 80,000 dwellings per year, and if you believe that population growth will continue to rise by 6-7% per annum – a conservative estimate, then by 2020 we will still not have enough residences to meet demand – even with the staggering amount of homes that Nakheel is delivering over the next two decades.’

Nakheel is providing 50% of Dubai’s residential supply by building homes for three million people ranging from affordable housing to the ultimate in luxury living in order to meet the demands of Dubai’s growing cosmopolitan population.

Nakheel has developed a large volume of affordable and family living in three distinct areas of Dubai: Waterfront, International City and Al Furjan.

The developer also plans to create 10 million sq ft of retail space through plans announced by Nakheel Retail.

Manal Shaheen added: ‘Through bold decisions made by our leaders, Dubai has established ‘first mover’ advantage in the region, with clear property laws and legislation for the protection of the consumer. Homebuyers, including overseas investors, can buy property freehold, safe in the knowledge that legal watchdogs such as RERA exist to protect their best interests. This protection has a vital role to play in the long-term success and stability of Dubai’s real estate sector.’

Dubai is increasingly becoming the business and tourism hub of the Middle East, and, with 1.7 billion people living within a four-hour flight radius of the Emirate, is set for continued future growth.

Having already played a leading role in establishing Dubai as a leading tourism destination, Nakheel’s planned tourism projects will include up to 250 new hotels – a 50% increase on the current number in the emirate.

The Palm Jumeirah alone is more than doubling the number of beachfront hotels in Dubai, with more than 30 hotels and 14,000 rooms.

Numbers of hotel and hotel-apartment guests in Dubai continue to show strong year-on-year increases, with 500,000 more guests in 2007 than 2006.

The first phase of the waterfront development, the largest of its kind in the emirate, began two years ago and is now nearing completion, with 95% of the digging for the project’s water canals complete.

Al Hanoo Chairman, Sheikh Abdullah bin Fahid Al Shakrah, said on the subject: ‘The lining of the canal banks is a complicated process, as these canals are the main base for the project’s waterfront infrastructures, especially those related to marinas, tide breakers and some of the island connectors.’

Al Shakrah said, ‘The rock used in the paving process undergoes rigid testing in several stages. The first stage entails looking for clearly apparent defects. Samples are then taken to a laboratory where the density, absorbency, rigidity, and capacity of the rock to withstand the elements are measured. Finally, rock types are selected for the appropriate locations on the different island key points, in a way that guarantees symmetry and perfection. We’ve made excellent progress in this process, which is now very nearly complete.’

Al Hanoo Holdings has made several development procedures on the master plan of the water canals. These canals allow water to circulate in a record period, above the standard international average. The company has also managed to extend the 3 km long waterfront into a 35 km long waterfront.

The Al Nujoom Islands project is being developed in three stages. The first stage, which consists of five sections, is equivalent to 20% of the total project area of 60 million square feet. All development works are expected to complete by the end of the third stage in 2010.

The group, which announced plans to launch Sobha Hotels at Arabian Travel Market last May, plans to develop over 10 five-star properties in the next three years, with two hotels earmarked for Dubai, six for India, and one each in Oman and Zanzibar.

‘It is our intention to have four hotels operational by 2011, with another seven properties under construction,’ said Ajay Rajendran, Vice Chairman, Sobha Group.

‘Sheikh Zayed Road is the landmark business address in Dubai, so what better place for us to mark our entry into the hotel development and operations arena? We are thrilled to have secured a prominent plot in TECOM which will afford our guests easy access to the business zones of Dubai Media and Internet Cities, as well as being in close proximity to the Mall of the Emirates and Ski Dubai,’ he added.

According to Ajay Rajendran, Sobha Hotels will benchmark against the best resort properties and luxury hotels in the region.

‘We have been outfitting palace interiors for a long time and know all about creating high-end interiors. Our hands-on experience in creating residential and commercial buildings, their planning and building maintenance has given us adequate exposure to the build and operate concept of project management. It is now our aim to transfer our expertise to the hospitality sector, to create a chain of five-star properties under the brand Sobha Hotels,’ Rajendran said.

‘Sobha Group is all about high quality finishes and on-time completion. These pillars, coupled with Sobha’s unique service delivery, will make Sobha Hotels an international-standard chain’ he added.

Sobha Group will own, develop and operate all Sobha Hotels. The first Sobha Hotels property is expected to open in 2011. The Group has plans to develop a portfolio of 2,500 rooms.

The two-day programme, to be offered by qualified RERA officials starting the month of October, will cover real estate regulations and guidelines on property transactions and effective communications with clients and investors. The RERA-certification will qualify employees to function as well-informed real estate professionals in their respective areas of business.

The MoU will also enable Dubai Properties Group to adopt the trainer programme as well as other specific RERA training programmes to continue imparting the skills and know-how within the organisation as well as among new employees.

Mohamed S. Binbrek, Group CEO, of Dubai Properties Group said: ‘The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) possesses the technical and professional capabilities to deliver training in specific areas of speciality. The top-notch training will enrich our employees, enhance their competencies and offer us immense advantages as an organisation in a highly competitive industry sector.’

Binbrek added, ‘We believe the RERA certification will benefit our employees working at the sales, leasing and customer service divisions and enable them to effectively provide information on the latest rules and regulations, helping them make the right purchase decision.’

Dubai Properties Group is committed to enhancing relationships with its potential customers by providing them with accurate information before and after purchase, while ensuring personalised after-sales treatment is provided to customers.

Marwan Bin Ghalaita, CEO of RERA, said: ‘Dubai Properties Group is the first master real estate developer to ink a deal with RERA to train its real estate professionals on the procedures and regulations in Dubai’s real estate sector. This comes as part of our real estate regulation awareness campaign to maintain a high level of competency and knowledge across all strata of the market to provide best practices and create a healthy and rich real estate working environment.’

As pioneers in the real estate industry, Dubai Properties Group and its entities work closely with RERA, as part of the organisation’s endeavour to raise the bar on operational excellence.

SODIC’s investment, which is subject to certain conditions precedent to be completed over the next year, amounts to LE17m, bringing EQTI’s capital up to LE58m and helping it expand its’ current nature lodge operations in Egypt to other key locations nationwide.

‘This investment underscores our commitment towards diversifying across the various real estate segments,’ said Maher Maksoud, SODIC’s Managing Director.

He added, ‘It also helps advance Egypt’s position as a leading eco-tourism destination, to service the growing market of environmentally sensitive and culturally minded travelers worldwide.’

Mr. Mahmood Janahi, Manager Director of Marina West Real Estate Company, commenting on current progress, said: ‘The last few months, have been a tough time for the construction sector. The Government of Bahrain has reduced the working hours in the hot summer months by restricting working between 12 noon to 4 pm. Also another major factor that has affected the overall progress of construction was the Saudi Government’s ban on export of cement which has now been partially relaxed.’

He added: ‘Much of the credit goes to our contractor , Al Hamad, who continued to strive to keep pace by commencing work early mornings and working in the late hours of the night to achieve such results. With the progress of the towers now moving skywards one can start to visualize the serenity and to understand the whole Marina West Development as it starts to take on its final form.’

The central core areas of the towers are first rising rapidly followed by the surrounding columns and the respective floor slabs which is the sequence of construction being followed. In most of the towers the car park (Podium level) the floor as well as the roof slabs have been cast. The erection of the tower cranes for some of the towers have been completed these will now greatly assist in handling the materials both horizontally as well as vertically.

Industry leaders Realcomm and Fleming Gulf will bring together real estate industry experts and the business community of the Middle East to discuss global best practices in technology, automation and innovation for the real estate industry.

‘We are delighted to partner again with Fleming Gulf and present the second annual RealTech Middle East,’ said Jim Young, Co-Founder and CEO of Realcomm.

‘Building on last year’s success and attendees’ feedback, this year’s conference will present topics that are relevant in today’s economy and the evolving process of real estate and technology’s growing integrated relationship.’

This year’s conference theme is INvestigate, INitiate, INnovate: Leveraging Technology in a Fast-Changing World.

The two-day event will focus on helping businesses survive today’s challenges and thrive in today’s highly competitive business climate.

‘Combining the resources of Fleming Gulf and Realcomm to produce RealTech Middle East 2008 provides a comprehensive, relevant and cutting-edge event that will bring global best practices to the real estate IT community,’ said Nina Seredai-Udalova, General Manager of Fleming Gulf.

Realcomm Conference Group, LLC, is a global leader in providing education, information and networking opportunities to the Real Estate information technology and business communities. Fleming Gulf is an internationally recognized conference group that has offices in Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

Babak Golriz, Business Development & Marketing Communications Manager, stated, ‘Its with great pride that we announce that since June of last year, we have established 30 privately managed portfolios for our key clients. We would really like to thank these priveleged individuals for trusting us and putting their confidence into us’.

Sales & Marketing Director, Kayhan Khalili, added, ‘When we started this vision in June of last year, we set ourselves a target of 10 portfolios before the end of 2007 but we ended up with almost 20. Now with almost three quarters of the year gone, we have already hit the 30 mark. Considering that the smallest value on a portfolio is Dhs10m, we are talking about a significant amount of investors funds within our portfolio.’

A company spokesperson confirmed that the smallest portfolio stands at just over Dhs10m and the largest at over Dhs50m. Portfolios are only created for clients that directly and exclusively invest through the company, an idea, which was the brainchild of the management team immediately after their appointment in 2007.

Khalili quipped: ‘We pride ourself on only working with the most notable of developers and investing only within the most luxurious names in the property market. Some of these properties include the Palazzo Versace Hotel, Burjside Boulevard 5-Star Serviced Apartments, Dubai International Financial Center, Jumeirah Islands Luxury Mansions, Trump Tower Residences as well as other notable projects from Emaar ,Nakheel, & Dubai Properties, the nation’s three most notable master developers. These properties have either been purchased independently by clients, or have been recommended and purchased as part of our informal wealth management philosophy for long-term investors.’

At the same time, confirmation was made that there were plans to formalize & structuralize the company’s philosophy in the near future, with an exciting project, although it was not made clear whether this would result in the creation of a new corporate entity. Golriz explained, ‘With everything we have done comes the vision to create & formalize a structure ready geared towards investments currently valued at close to Dhs500m, as well as attract new capital & investment, as we feel that it is the right time in the development of the local property market to set the ball into motion to that effect. During the past two years, we have been involved in acquiring an extensive portfolio of properties for our partners & clientele & in the near future I am sure our plans will be received with great enthusiasm.’