By Shane McGinley www.arabianbusiness.com
Apartment sellers in the Armani Residences have listed a number of two bed room units for AED30m ($8.1m) each.
Several units were put on sale in the past week, and the prices equate to AED13,500 ($3675) per square foot – nearly 20% higher than during the peak of the property boom in Dubai.
The residences are managed and furnished by the Armani Hotel, within the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.
The news comes just days after Arabian Business reported sale prices on the luxury Palm Jumeirah development have sunk to a four-year low, with apartments being offered for as little as AED650 ($176) per sq ft.
In October last year, real estate consultancy Colliers International reported the Burj Khalifa’s 144 luxury Armani Residences were valued at AED4-5,000 per sq ft; at their minimum, almost double the AED2,800 per sq ft commanded by the remainder of the skyscraper’s 900 apartments.
In 2008, before the property crash, Colliers reported that Armani units in the tower were valued at around AED11,000 per square foot.
However, agents contacted by Arabian Business suggested the extravagant sale prices may be an attempt to “boost” the flagging property market.
One agent said: “A lot of properties have been listed recently and generally around AED29m to AED31m for a 2 bed. However, even overseas investors from Russia and Iran are unlikely to pay more than AED15m, what is more likely going on is a number of owners are now trying to artificially lift the market.”
