On the largest of Dubai’s palm-shaped islands, where villas are selling for ten times what they did when the project was first announced but never completed, hundreds of purchasers scurried to purchase luxury residences.
Brokers and investors waited outside Nakheel PJSC’s sales centre, where the government-backed developer is selling hundreds of five- to seven-bedroom villas on the undeveloped Palm Jebel Ali, about 50 kilometers from downtown Dubai, from 6 am on Wednesday in the sweltering heat of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). The cheapest residential lots are going for roughly 40 million dirhams, while homes start at 18.7 million dirhams ($5.1 million).

Brokers armed with checkbooks begged officials to let them enter Nakheel’s tightly guarded offices at the base of the city’s first and most well-known man-made island, Palm Jumeirah. Many of the brokers were representing purchasers from Russia and India. Water and paper towels were distributed to the crowd by a worker.

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La Capitale Real Estate broker Ajay Singh, quoted by a newspaper,  revealed that he was representing four Russian and Indian clients who had their sights set on particular properties. After waiting in line for three hours, he added, “It’s a lottery, you take what you can get.” No client wants to wait outside in the heat, so we arrive with the necessary paperwork and a 200,000 dirham credit card authorization, with the remaining funds being transferred via bank transfer.

Dubai is reviving the Palm Jebel Ali project years after it was halted as the emirate seeks to cash in on an influx of newcomers, which ended a seven-year property slump and pushed prices to record levels. The luxury end of the market, in particular, has seen a spectacular reversal with the city soaring to the top spot of global rankings in the second quarter for transactions of homes valued at $10 million or above, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.

Tamer Bazzari, the founder of Dubai-based investment company Genero Capital LLC, purchased two homes on the Palm Jumeirah and made “very good money” from them. On Wednesday, he paid 19 million dirhams for a 7,000 square foot (650 square meter) property and plans to purchase a second villa.

After a hard morning, Tamer Bazzari commented as he was leaving the sales area, “The Palm Jebel Ali designs are excellent. “Compared to other properties, the location and square foot value are significantly better. We anticipate that the investment will be quite profitable.