Eco living key for middle east investors

A recent survey has consigned that old saying ‘Location is everything,' to the scrapheap when it comes to property investors looking to flash their cash in the Middle East. Instead, eco is where it's at...

A recent survey by one of the biggest Gulf developers, Nakheel, has shown that environmental friendliness is top of the list for investors who are considering a purchase.

A development's impact on the environment is of huge concern to many - more than half of respondents to the survey named sustainability of a project the most important factor.

The survey was carried out following an advertising campaign to promote the launch of Badrah, a district in Nakheel's waterfront development and its findings are now being taken into account by the developer.

A cross section of 400 respondents from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah were questioned about which factors were important to them when buying a property as well as the impact of the advertising campaign. 

When questioned about what makes an ideal development the five most important characteristics were environmental friendliness, reputation, reliability, affordability and innovation.

Sustainability and how environmentally friendly a property is tops other factors that have historically been given priority, including location and prestige. 

The second most important factor was found to be reliability of a developer and a development, with 47 per cent listing that as an influencing factor. Innovation and healthy living came joint fourth with 43 per cent of responses.

The reputation of the developer, affordability of the development and innovation of design were also listed as important factors.

Matt Joyce, Managing Director of Waterfront Nakheel, said, "In the past, quality has been one of the most important factors for potential customers.

"This is the first time we've seen environmental concerns come through this strongly.

"We are currently working to align our products and services even more closely with this growing demand.

"Waterfront has been designed, like all of Nakheel's projects, with sustainability at its heart," added Mr Joyce.

The district of Badrah has an emphasis on green open spaces and is being built as a self-sustainable community with a strong focus on reducing the consumption of energy and water.

"We see it as a city of the future and are delighted that there is a real demand for this type of development from end-users," continued Mr Joyce.

Picture by jonrawlinson