(Gulf News) Ras Al Khaimah Rashid Hamdoon Saeed Al Naqbi, believed to be the oldest man in the UAE, died at the age of 107 on Monday in Ras Al Khaimah, confirmed family members.
Al Naqbi, born June 1, 1904, died comfortably in his bed, of natural causes, at home in the Al Oraibi area of Ras Al Khaimah.
His son-in-law, Rashid Saeed, said yesterday that the family will miss Al Naqbi’s humour, tales of the desert from yesteryears and his nightly gatherings with relatives.
DUBAI: Residents of the famous Dubai beach side apartment complex Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) have been refusing to pay their service charges after a rise in the fees.
The original service fee written into owner’s contracts was Dh9.5 per square foot. Dubai Properties are believed to have wanted to increase it to Dh21. They finally settled on Dh15 per square foot.
It’s thought that the rise in the charges has resulted in as many as 50 per cent of owners not paying their charges. Last year JBR residents were perturbed when the complex car parks were left open, allowing anyone to park there.
One resident said: “Security wasn’t enforcing that the car parks were only for residents so we couldn’t find any spaces. As a suggestion we asked for card access but the developer used the cards to block people who hadn’t paid service fees.”
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Dubai Land Department figures reflect a 37 percent increase in property transactions when compared to 2009 at the height of the financial crisis, suggesting signs of recovery in the city’s battered housing market. But analysts remain concerned that the estimated 33,000 new homes scheduled to hit Dubai’s market by end-2012 could cause fresh declines in rental and sale prices. Dubai’s housing market will plummet another 10% before it stabilises, a Reuters poll showed earlier this month, adding that the market is oversupplied by about 25%.
The situation in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is no better with as many as 11,000 homes expected to flood the property market in the next quarter. House prices in Abu Dhabi are expected to fall another 14%, taking them to 60% below their peak.
There’s a lot of uncertainty in the market still. Despite stabilising prices, there is still reluctance to get back into the market, certainly on the investor side. Although villa properties continue to outperform apartments, lease rates fell 10% year on year with smaller houses worst hit by the declines. Emaar Properties the UAE’s largest developer by market value has said revenue from apartment sales plunged 86% in the third quarter, amid weak property demand in Dubai.
Speaking in London last week, Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar said that Dubai’s real estate will remain a “challenging” environment for two or three years but house prices are beginning to recover. He also said he saw “optimism in the city” and confidence among consumers and the government, resulting in growth in key sectors of Dubai’s economy.
Moody’s, one of the most reputed rating agencies, has recently predicted the future of Dubai real estate according to which, oversupply is still suppressing Dubai property market despite various steps taken by the Dubai government.
Analysts have warned that Dubai risks developing a two-tiered property market with villas and apartments in poorly maintained developments proving difficult to rent out or sell.
While the outlook for the United Arab Emirates property sector remains gloomy, the emirates have been seen as a safe haven during turmoil that has gripped the Arab world and toppled leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
