Sharjah developers hold the line on off-plan prices

With few exceptions, developers in Sharjah seem to be holding the line on off-plan prices and hoping to pick up as many buyers as possible now. This, market sources say, makes sense at a time when buyers are extremely price conscious and there are options out in Dubai with low upfront payments.

So far, Sharjah developers have refrained from getting too aggressive on their payment schemes.

 Al Al Mamsha in Sharjah’s University City area, the developer has maintained the Dh600-Dh800 a square foot range for the second round of sales, which will kick into higher gear in the coming weeks.

“For some units with prime views, we have put tags slightly higher than the average, but on the whole we’ve stuck close to the first-round prices,” said Karma Al Taher, head of marketing at Alef. “Where we have experimented is on the unit sizes and features built into the units. This way we can net a wider net of potential buyers.”

Al Mamsha has been one of the signature freehold projects released in Sharjah last year. It sticks closely to the community-themed developments that have proved popular in the emirate to date. Interestingly, there haven’t been too many high-rises competing in this space.

Sharjah’s buyer tastes are distinctly for communities and with a lot of green in them.

“We managed to sell out the 750 units released in the first round in fairly quick time,” said Al Taher.

It will be interesting to see the pricing strategy developers adopt going forward. With each new release, they would be creating additional supply in a market that has already seen quite a bit coming through since mid-2017. If they raise prices, there is always the prospect that units in the same location and development could be available at lower prices in the secondary market.

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