Ghantoot | The best of Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Hello subscribers and members,

Ever wanted to live by the beach, but also close to natural greenery? Being close to Dubai South, the city’s impressive growth engine, and the amazing Palm Jebel Ali development, but also enjoying the benefits of living in Abu Dhabi? Looking to buy a house in a community where prices have not yet gone through the roof?

If any of the above describes you or if you are working for any Abu Dhabi government entity and want to enjoy Dubai’s buzz, Ghantoot might just be perfect for you.

Ghantoot is a small town at the Dubai - Abu Dhabi border on the Abu Dhabi side. It is home to the Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club hosting high profile equestrian events. It also boasts the stunning 5 star Anantara Santorini resort. But besides this the town has been rather unimpressive - until recently.

High end seafront villa and townhouse developments have come up. Most of them are in Al Jurf, a few kilometers after the Dubai - Abu Dhabi border.

There are also developments launching directly at the Dubai - Abu Dhabi border, only 17 km from Jebel Ali freezone, about 12 km from Palm Jebel Ali and a 30 minutes drive from Al Maktoum Airport.

Investors need to know whether or not they can make money. For this we need to look into the value drivers and the pricing. The question is how much could those properties be worth once the development is complete and does this leave enough room for decent capital appreciation? We think yes.

The Abu Dhabi advantage

Some people prefer living in Abu Dhabi compared to Dubai. I’m not one of them. There are many good reasons to prefer Abu Dhabi. People say that life is less stressful there and more family oriented. There are a number of cultural offerings such as the Grand Mosque or Sadiyaat Cultural District featuring the Louvre, the Museum of Natural History and soon the Guggenheim. Qasr Al Hosn and Qasr Al Watan are more traditional sites. They offer performances and workshops allowing people to experience Emirati culture. Malls in Abu Dhabi are less busy.

However there are people who prefer to live in Dubai, even when working in Abu Dhabi.

Many of the better jobs in Abu Dhabi are with government owned entities. Those require their employees to reside in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi or forfeit their housing and schooling allowances. As Ghantoot is part of Abu Dhabi, it allows being as close as possible to Dubai, while living in Abu Dhabi. A lot of couples also include one spouse working in Dubai and the other one in Abu Dhabi. Ghantoot is a perfect compromise, allowing both a reasonable commute.

Another advantage of buying a place in Abu Dhabi is the lower property registration fee. Abu Dhabi Municipality (ADM) charges 2% of the property value, compared to the 4% charged by Dubai Land Department (DLD). This not only reduces the total cost of buying the property, it also makes it easier to sell.

Pricing

Until now, there has been only one Masterdevelopment in Ghantoot - Al Jurf. Imkan is the masterdeveloper. However Imkan has launched different products with different sizes and different quality levels. Some plots were also sold to another developer. This makes it a bit difficult to compare how the pricing developed over time and how much room there is still to grow. In 2018 Imkan sold beachfront plots and in 2019 the first villas. Small 2 BR villas that were sold for about AED 2 million are now completed and in the secondary market for 3 million. 3BR villas that sold for about 2.8 million are now on offer for 3.8 million. However those are offer prices and it is unclear if there is demand at those prices. 3BR villas sold in 2023 and 2024 by Ohana were priced around 5 - 5.5 million, however those were more luxurious. The latest launch by Ohana starts at 6 million for 3BR villas, however again the quality is different as they are co-branded by Jacob & Co an ultra luxury watch brand.

To summarise, we can say that there was maybe some 25-40% price appreciation on the first villas launched between the launch date in 2019 and the handover date. Given the rather generous payment plans requiring only 30% payment before completion, the equity return of the first investors is quite good. However a big part of the reason is that in 2019 real estate was at an exceptionally low point and anyone who bought a house at that time made a huge return. The value of Ohana’s houses sold in 2023 and 2024 has not yet increased much.

It is also important to compare the prices to what one can get elsewhere. AED 5 - 6 million for a 3 BR townhouse is not a small amount of money. You could also get a nice place in Dubai. However it wouldn’t be a branded luxury property in a waterfront community with beach access. Imkan’s recent Naseem Al Jurf launch included 3BR houses starting at AED 2.7 million. Those are less luxurious and a bit further away from the beach. This is below the pricing of Emaar South townhouses.

Overall, Ghantoot’s value proposition seems stronger than Dubai’s less central villa communities in Dubai South, Dubailand or the Valley and pricing is much lower than for Dubai’s prime locations like Jumeirah Park, Dubai Hills and certainly Palm Jumeirah. Given the combination of waterfront and nature, as well as the location, there is substantial growth potential, especially once Maktoum Airport, the logistics corridor and Palm Jebel Ali are developed.

A new development by Ora development is upcoming directly at the border to Dubai. Not much information is revealed so far, but it is open for registration. If the above makes any sense to you, you should consider registering before it is too late (no deposit required). Click the button below the table to speak to a (non-pushy and competent) specialists in case you would like to hear more.

Below are the projects that have just been launched and those expected to launch very soon in Ghantoot.

As always, you will not get unwanted calls from pushy agents. The agents we work with are independent from us, go through a stringent continuous selection process and will only contact you in the way and at the time you choose.

The below table includes the previous launches for comparison:

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Feel free to share your feedback on this article or on topics you would like us to cover by replying to this email.

In case you have missed any of our previous issues:

Dubai Islands - One of the hottest seafront opportunities

Dubai South - Dubai strongest growth engine

Villas and Townhouses - Land is getting scarce

Financing Property in the UAE - Smart financing can optimize your return

Jumeirah Garden City - The latest project in Dubai you haven’t heard of

Nad Al Sheba North - Luxury in harmony with wildlife

Dubai’s last affordable waterfront developments - Maritime City, Rachid Yachts & Marina and Dubai Islands have massive room to appreciate

If you know someone who would benefit from our content, please share with them.

Until then, keep it up.

Stay tuned,

M&M

Important Notice:

The information provided in this newsletter (the “Newsletter”) is a consolidation from different publicly available sources combined with the personal view of the author and for informational purposes only. It does not in any way constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Nothing in the Newsletter or on our website is an offer or advertisement for any specific project or opportunity, but a tool for you to see and compare publicly available information on projects for your own personal purposes. While we give the option to put you in contact with independent agents specializing in different areas, we are neither in control of, nor responsible for any information given by those agents.

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