Why Invest in Sobha Hartland II?

Hi. I'm GG Benitez, a certified international property specialist connecting the dynamic and incredible real estate market of Dubai with investors in the United States and Canada. Today I have a very special guest, one of my favorites, Cassia from the top tier developer Sobha, to discuss with us why Sobha Hartland II should be on your radar. Hi Cassia. Hi Gigi, thank you for having us. This is season 2 of The Dubai Connect podcast. Last time in our podcast with Cassia, we really delved in deeply into why Sobha is one of the top tier developers. Because in the United States, Cassia, there's so much advertising going on for so many different developers. It can become really overwhelming, right? By now, Americans and Canadians, the whole world knows that Dubai is a top global real estate market. Everybody understands that that's what's happening. But then when they come here, they don't know which developers to invest with because there are dozens and dozens, right? But there are only several that I really trust to go back to my investors and say this is one of them. And of course, Sobha is one of them. And we've gone into that. So someone can refer to our other podcast where we discussed why Sobha. But today, what I want you to really share and explain, Cassia, is why Hartland II. So may you share? Yeah, so as you know, we already have a community which is called Sobha Hartland. Let's call it Sobha Hartland One. It's almost finished. It's a community we started to sell in 2016, and it's actually now I consider it, it's the most popular community in Dubai. Like you have a couple of communities like this because it's close to the center, close to downtown, close to Dubai Mall. It's basically the first row after downtown. So the city is growing this side. This is the first row from downtown. So that community is already almost finished, almost sold out. People live there in some buildings. Our latest launch is Sobha Hartland II. It's literally across the road from Sobha Hartland One, which is still the same first row from downtown. Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall. So it's like it's 10 minutes from downtown. It's still in the land of Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid. So it's part of Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid City. Who's president of Dubai? Same 8 million square feet community. Same as Sobha Hartland. Same as Hartland II. But just a different shape. 8 million square feet community with 35% of green spaces. So 35% of the area dedicated for green areas. And it's not only palm trees, as you know. It's different kinds of trees, what you're going to have in this community. So it is a gated community. 24/7 security. Two gates. Two entrances. It is three swimmable lagoons. So the place where it's man-made beach, man-made lagoon, where you can swim and where you can do water sports like kayak or stand-up paddling and stuff like that with Caribbean sand, which is the white one like the Maldives. And it's going to be two clubhouses. Clubhouse is an enclosed area with paddle tennis, tennis, basketball court, half basketball court, covered swimming pool, cafes and stuff like that. It is obviously so there are going to be 11 towers. We've launched so far six towers, and it's going to be two more residential towers and six more, like commercial towers. When I say commercial towers, I mean hotels, business centers, and stuff like that. So there are two more towers to go, and still we have some inventory in those six towers which will launch. Each tower has obviously its own swimming pool, barbecue area, children's playground, green zones, sky gardens, outdoor cinema, indoor cinema, obviously covered parking. One covered parking comes with each apartment, and with a three bedroom, it comes with two covered parking, plus visitors parking. The first floor is usually dedicated to commercial spaces, so pharmacies, groceries, small groceries, cafes, restaurants and stuff like that. Apart from it, we're going to have a big plaza all around the community. Plaza is like a promenade, in and out, where you can have boutiques, fine dining, restaurants, where you like you can have a walk, you come sit in a restaurant, then you come out, come visit a boutique and stuff like that. So it's going to be a plaza and it's going to be a shopping center. It's not the biggest shopping center because it's inside the community, but it is a decent shopping center, like a shopping mall. It's going to be there. Plus on the territory of this 8 million square feet, you have two British curriculum schools. So which you will not find except Hartland One in any community where you have a school on the territory. Usually it's this, you know, yellow bus, 1 hour drive, yeah. So this is how people go to school. This is the community. So half of the community takes apartments. Half of the community takes villas. These villas, the starting price was 6.2 million up to 55 million. So there are three types of villas: five bedroom, six bedroom, and mansions. So far we've launched only five bedrooms and six bedrooms. Mansions we still haven't. Half of the community takes apartments, which is a configuration of apartments: one, two, and three bedrooms. Starting price as of now is 450,000 with a payment plan. So the villas are going to be finished together with the school, together with the first lagoon, one of the lagoons, by December 2025. And the apartments, the closest delivery of the tower is December 2026, okay? And the rest, this is one tower, and the rest of the five towers is Q1, Q2 of 2027, Q1, Q2 2027. So basically if you buy the apartment today, which is going to be delivered by 2027, when you receive your apartment, you don't receive it just, you know, one standalone building in the desert. You receive it when half of the community is already ready. The villas, already 124 villas, the villas are already ready. The lagoon is already filled. The school is already ready. Obviously, all infrastructure, the greenery, the roads, everything is ready. So you receive almost like a ready community. It's not like you receive, you buy first, you receive first, and then you don't know what to do because everywhere around is construction. Yeah, so with the payment plan, which obviously helps you to pay your installments, usually it's every 6 months or every 9 months, or it can be 6 months and 9 months. With 10%, so let's say payment plan can sound as 80/20, which is 80% within construction by 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% until 2027, and then 20% on delivery. So all apartments, it's all highrise buildings. So you have half of the community you have villas. Half of the community you have highrise buildings, which is like 57 up to 67 floors. All apartments come with panoramic windows. So every apartment has a view. The building has only two sides, which is one side overlooking either if it's on the left side, it's overlooking the Maidaan racecourse, which is the biggest and the most expensive racecourse, asking racecourse in the world. Sheikh Muhammad golf course, which is basically greenery, green areas. The other side is going to overlook inside your courtyard, which is three swimmable lagoons with Caribbean sand, greenery and stuff like that. And if you be talking about the right side apartment, the backside is going to overlook on Burj Khalifa and the famous Dubai skyline view. DFC, sky business base skyline, downtown skyline. And this is a sunset over there. So each apartment has a view regardless. You're going to choose inner part or outer part. Each apartment has a view. So all apartments come with, what I started with, panoramic windows with the fitted kitchen. Fitted kitchen means built-in kitchen with all appliances. It's going to be Siemens. Because our main architect and engineer are from Germany. They've been with Sobha for 15 years. So mostly they choose cement or smack. I mean, all European stuff. Yeah. So all apartments come with fitted kitchen, fitted wardrobes, which is built-in wardrobes, and obviously organized restrooms. So you will not have only furniture, which is like sofa, bed, pillow, blanket. This is you will not have. Let's say even the lights built-in lights. You're going to have chandeliers. You're not going to have built-in light. You're going to have floor-to-ceiling of 3 meters. Again, panoramic, anti-shatter windows with 15% tint. So it means you don't have direct light, direct sunlight. So your floor is not heated. So going back a little bit to the lagoon, you and I actually did a little field trip yesterday to the lagoon. Turquoise, absolutely stunning. And we saw people just already enjoying the part of the lagoon that's finished. Down the road, how rare is that in Dubai? Because when you say water view, water view, and people from the United States are thinking water view, there's only so much more property that's available, sea-facing. But this is water view. And so what that's also going to showcase is the fact that you have a beach and water, swimmable, right in front of your location. Drawing that tourism and that short-term rental. You have a golf course that's part of your other community, which is 5 minutes away. When you talk about greenery, as well, Cassia, how rare is greenery? And I mean, we're in a desert, right? But when you and I were driving around, it's luscious, beautiful green. And it's not even finished yet. But did you say 30%? Yeah, 30 to 35%. In Hartland II they're going to enhance it. Because in Hartland One we had 25 to 30%, and now they do 30 to 35%, so it's even more green. And in Hartland One you have one lagoon. In Hartland II you have already three lagoons. So obviously you have also, I forgot to say this, you have 28 points of amenities. Including the dog park. And not just a dog park means not just a dedicated space for walking your dog. Also, this dedicated space to train them and to wash them, like a dog salon. Then you're going to have basketball court, half basketball court, skate park, and there are 28 points of this kind of amenities. Squash, tennis, paddle tennis and stuff like that. So it is really like a town inside the town. Yeah, yeah, community. Yeah, it's a community. Actually, you know, expand a little bit on that. Because the idea of a master community is very Dubai, right? So when a developer like Sobha takes over that whole Hartland and develops a master community, the idea is that you don't have to drive very far to have access to a mall. Because in addition to the mall that you have coming in Sobha Hartland II, you also have another mall nearby, My Van Mall, which is going to be. Which is going to be. It's already the superstructure is already ready. It's four floors ready. There is no interior, exterior, windows, but the whole structure is ready. You saw it yesterday. Yes. So this is going to be the biggest mall, which is going to be bigger. Twice than Dubai Mall. With the ski Dubai. Bigger three times then we already have Ski Dubai and Emirates Mall. With 1.2 kilometer slope. And it's going to be fountains. The singing fountains. Also one and a half times bigger than Dubai Mall. I mean, that's incredible. And that's going to be. How far away from Sobha Hartland II? 5 minutes. 5 minutes. 5 minutes. And then Deep Dive. And then yes. And this in the same area. Sobha Muhammad B City. It's still the same land. And just, you know, you have to drive a little bit. Okay, yeah. And then Deep Dive. And then yes. And this in the same area. So basically let me explain. Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid City is the land of the Sheikh. So all the biggest, the greatest things he start from his area. I mean, whatever. Okay, you have this big. I will make it bigger. We will make it bigger. Okay, you have this. We will make it. So also, recently Deep Dive opened in the same area. Deep Dive is the deepest aquarium for diving in the world. So the most expensive and biggest racecourse in the world. Deep Dive, which is the deepest aquarium for diving. The biggest mall. So it's conducive for activity. It's conducive for families. And then you even have some five-star hotels, which I think it's a secret of who it is, right? But right there, which franchise is secret. Yeah. And what is, obviously, if they're investing in that area, again, that's for the short-term rentals. Because what the investors are asking, and what I would like us to answer, is Sobha Hartland II best for capital appreciation, and/or long-term rental returns, and/or short-term rental returns? Yeah, so it's definitely yes. Because again, if you're talking about business in downtown, it's already overcrowded. There is no plot to build. So the city moved towards this side. Yeah. So Sobha Hartland One, Sobha Hartland II, and Sobha One, after it. Yeah. And then after that, the Creek comes. Yeah. So this is basically in between downtown and Creek Harbor. The location in between, right? Yeah. So did you see how many buildings in downtown? And it's still lacking short-term, long-term. Like literally people stand in the queue to get something, like to rent something for short-term or for long-term, or to buy something. Yeah. So this is the same. It's going to be. Since as I said, city moving towards this side, but still so close. I mean, it's incredible. When you and I were yesterday, you know, just looking at how close we are to the Burj Khalifa, how close we are to downtown, that's it. So yeah, downtown is on the left side. Then you have a road. And this is on the right side. They're mirroring each other. And to the beach, if you want to go to the beach, it's 12 minutes. 12 minutes. 12 minutes to the public beach with the sea. Or you have your own, or you have your own lagoon. Yeah. So for what I see now in Hartland One, because good rental return for long-term rental in Dubai, it's 7 to let's say 9%. This is you. This is considered very good rental return. What I see now, because I live in Sobha Hartland One, the rental, the long-term rental is up. It's 11%. 11%, okay? This is long-term rental. Okay, from that total amount, total cost of the apartment. And for the short-term rental you can earn up to 25%, sometimes up to 30%. If you're talking about, let's say, New Year, and you have Burj Khalifa view. So obviously the whole month can cover the rest of the year. So basically the month of December can be the same amount of money as the rest of 9 months or 10 months. Yeah. So let's say if you have this Burj Khalifa view and stuff. So again, very close proximity to downtown. But the biggest benefit that's its community. Because nowadays nobody likes even to live in the stone jungles and downtown. It's just a freeway, freeway, freeway, building, building, building. Even Business Bay. I know that that was trending for a while. But I find, for me personally, I find Business Bay to be a little bit dry, right? I know that you're talking about it, you love the canal because the water there. This is the only thing that's it. But yeah, there's not lusciousness. There's not a the. It's a little bit slow for me. Whereas in Sobha, I can already feel that sense of, right? Just lush and beautiful. And I mean, being that it's Muhammad bin Rashid City, right? That pride that's being taken in that whole area is incredible. Perfect views. Great location. How far from the airport? 12 minutes. 12 minutes from the airport. 12 minutes from the sea if you want. 10 minutes from downtown. In between downtown and Dubai Creek. So you're still closer. Yeah, you're still closer. You're still 10 minutes to Creek. So basically it's 10 minutes to downtown because from downtown to Creek it's around 25 minutes. Yeah. So you have 10 minutes to downtown and let's say 12 to 13 minutes to Creek. And to the Expo Center, it's also around 10 minutes. You know, this water center, all exhibitions, international exhibitions going on. So also it's right. You came to visit me and you were there like, this right, minutes. And again, this is something that my viewers can look at in our previous podcast or on my reels. The quality of the finishing of everything that Sobha does. Yeah. Sobha is the best. Sobha is the best in Dubai real estate market. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And why that matters. Okay, obviously that's appealing and that's attractive and that's going to garner higher, for resale you have a strong reputation. Strong for the resell. But also, for somebody that's investing from across the world who really has no intention to come to Dubai, but wants to start capitalizing on the opportunities here, to know that you have not just beautiful outside exterior, but such high quality interior is important for an investor to understand. Because we are in the desert, right. So to know, for example, that your quality you pay such particular attention to the waterproofing, to the window, like you just said about the tinting for the sun. So that property stays in good condition. Long time. Long. Exactly. That's important. For because here is, you know, the cycle of the apartment, which can look like new. It's 5 years, 6 years. After that, it really looks. It doesn't look like, let's say in our countries, it's still can stay 20, 30 years. It's still considered new property. Here, no. 5 years. After 5 years it's already considered like old property. Correct. If you visit our buildings which stand already five to six years in Sobha Hartland One, you'll see they look like they just been handed over like yesterday. You know. And Cassia, this is such an important topic to talk about. Because there are developers that are promoting so much in the United States. Very cheap, very cheap. So it's enticing. And an investor says oh my gosh, this is an opportunity to invest in Dubai, very cheap, and get in. But then what's going to happen in the five or 6 years when they want to resell that property and the quality is gone, right? How are they going to resell it? It's not only about quality. First of all, first of all, it's about the location. So you need. I don't know what developers you're talking about. But so first you have to look at the location. Because every each and everyone has to understand that the desert is very big. Yes. And anyone, literally me and you today, we can become a developer. We can buy some part of land and build something. Yeah. Build something and sell something like 100,000, 200,000. It's not that expensive unless it's really prime location. Because in prime location, not anyone can buy. Prime location is expensive. It is money. And all no. And first of all, not anyone can buy. This is number one. So you have to look. That location has to be prime. Otherwise you just have property in Dubai that's it. Right? You cannot do anything after you receive your key. First of all, it's going to go down in terms of prices. Yeah, it might be good for rental if there is some hospitals close or some schools close. But also all people, they know for what they pay. What they pay for. So if, let's say my school is outside of the city or somewhere not in the prime location, I'm not going to offer. Like you cannot literally ask me how much you want. I'm going to offer. And this is that much. You can take it or like I'm going to. Even if you Sobha is in the same location as another developer, and I won't mention names, next door to each other, okay? So let's say now location, apples to apples comparison. Yeah. Then we can talk. So first it's location. Then you can let's say you're choosing between this and in a certain location. Yeah, okay? You have this. You have this. And you have this. Then you can squeeze more now towards let's say quality. Yes. Let's say quality or delivery on time. First, delivery on time. It's also about quality. It's all about your money. Because if they're going to freeze the construction or if they're going to delay delivery, but they're not going to delay your payments. And even if you delay your payments, let's say they link your payment to delivery. Let's say okay, we cannot build now, don't pay. But you already paid a certain amount. You froze. You froze your money. What for? So Sobha in the whole history never delayed the project. We are well known for delivery earlier. But we never delayed. Even in COVID, delivered on time. Sobha has never delayed delivery. Never in the history. And that is a big deal for investors, right? And that is not the reputation that other developers have. So now we have location. Then we have delivery on time. Then we have the quality. I mean, what's there regarding the quality now? So obviously if an apartment is brand new, you just came, even your investor is not going to even come to look at it. So just can't. Okay, everything is okay. Let's say he chose short-term rental. So short-term rental, let's say beachfront property, which is already extra humid, some extra weather conditions on top of it. So in a year, he wants to calculate his profit. So let's say when it's whatever 20%, 10%, whatever been promised. It's it's it's there. From this profit, he has to pay service charge. Okay, he paid service charge. More or less probably the same in every in the same location. He paid service charge. And then in Sobha case, he receives after service charge. He receives net, net ROI, net rental return. In case it's a bad quality, the apartment became molded or something broken. And if a short-term rental, it's very possible that something can be broken. You need to change this, this. And then you need to repaint your walls. Okay, repainting walls. It's not a big deal. But if there is something wrong, you have to fix this and this and pay the pay the maintenance. Let's say your profit is 50K or 100K. Out of this 100K, you pay 40K just for this maintenance. So you receive less. 40%. That's why it is so important to understand who you're working with. And that's really why, and I think you would even back me up on this, to work with a broker who works with all developers, who can help guide investors on which developer, not just selling you know their development, right? And really work on guiding them so that their investment longterm is a strong strategy versus just a quick one-time sell. And then what, right? Yeah, absolutely right. So this quality, let's say bad quality, will affect your income basically. So Cassia, multi-million dollar question. If someone invests today in Sobha Hartland II, what would you project their capital appreciation to be right before handover? Okay, with all that's been said already, that it's again first row from downtown, close proximity to downtown, with the old schools, with all these points which I already mentioned. This has obviously affected your appreciation. Let's say on the pessimistic picture I'd say is 10% per year. So basically your property in the process of the building, you're already making money. So let's say the apartment cost 1 million, or 1 million dirhams, whatever, just 1 million. 1 million. So today we are in 2024. In 2025, if it's 10% every year. So in 2025 is 1.1. 26 is 1.2. And by delivery is 1.3. So it's going to be my opinion is from 10 to 15% per year. Yeah. So it's 1.3 on delivery. And then you can choose to sell it or to rent a couple of years to receive the highest capital appreciation and then to sell it. So Cassia, when is an investor allowed to resell a Sobha property before completion? After 40%. They're allowed to resell. Yeah. So basically you can resell even if the building is in the process of the building. So which you know, in the United States that is not possible. And what that means is that they're not stuck. So if by the time something goes wrong, correct, or the handover, right? Let's say it's handover time, and they don't want to make that final lump sum payment, or they don't want to do the financing. And they've already made, like you said, that pessimistically speaking, 10% per year. They're already happy with that. Yeah. That's it. Yeah. So yeah, they can exit. Yes. Yeah. This is pretty like straightforward scheme. So in Dubai, yeah, in Dubai, habib. Yeah. Well, Cassia, thank you, because I have been working with you for quite a while now. But now I feel even more passionate, really, about what's happening in Hartland II. After you and I did our field trip, and you were able to really show me what's going on, the location, how convenient it is. I already knew Sobha was such a reputable developer. But now to understand that the location is prime, the quality is incredible, the type of units. There's something for everyone. The schools, the activity, the amenities, the racecourse, the mall, the Deep Dive. You know, I mean, all of it makes so much sense as to why Hartland II is such a great investment opportunity. Yeah. And all of it still very close to downtown. This is the most important. It's not like a small village somewhere out of town with one hour driving. It's still considered the center of Dubai. This is. And like you said, Dubai downtown. That's starting to go further out like we're seeing Dubai Creek Harbor, right? But you're still in between Dubai Creek Harbor and downtown Dubai. You're still the center of Dubai with all the incredible views. So I'm excited to continue to share these opportunities with my investors. And I thank you for taking the time to patiently share. Because I know that you guys have. I see the queues of people in your showrooms that are you know, and Americans, we ask a lot of questions. So thank you for taking the time to answer them. And with that, please make sure to like, subscribe, follow, and to stay tuned for the next podcast. This is season 2 of The Dubai Connect podcast.