The Dubai government is bidding to rid the property market of rip-offs and scammers with the introduction of a new official online portal.
eMart is Dubai’s attempt at setting up a home sales and rental portal for the city.
The Department for Land hopes to inject some trust and credibility into Dubai’s property market, which has suffered from a lack of controls over recent years.
As the portal is backed by the government, the aim is to keep unwanted developers and landlords away from the public.
The government vision is for the portal for all auctions, sales and rental homes in Dubai, by acting as a one-stop shop for buyers and sellers.
The site already has dozens of page for sale and rent, but the section for off-plan sales is currently empty.
Cooling market
“The government wants to reassure everyone dealing with property that eMart is a public information exchange that guarantees transparency and credibility,” said a government spokesman.
Buyers and sellers can arrange viewings, make offers and negotiate deals through the site.
The launch of the site follows government action to take the Dubai property market off the boil after failing to act for a year at the behest of the banks.
Apartment and villa sale prices and rents have risen rapidly over the past 12 months, although they are still well shy of their peak in 2008.
The central bank is acting to reduce the availability of mortgages to make buyers inject more of their own cash into buying homes.
Expats will have to find deposits of at least 30% on their first home purchase and 40% for second or subsequent properties.
Transparency and credibility
Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director general of Dubai Land Department, said: “Dubai Land Department has hit another milestone in developing the Dubai property market. eMart is an online system that gives tenants, owns and brokers transparency and full credibility to operate in a way that we have not had before, a way that will help boost the local real estate market significantly.”
“We are putting together a comprehensive proposal to make the property market reliable and one which meets the objectives of everyone involved in the sector.
“This confidence should generate more foreign investment to make Dubai a global property destination by providing a full range of services that are clear and protect the rights of everyone involved in a property transaction.”
Visit the site at https://www.emart.gov.ae
