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A new real estate sector is about to enter the market, and it is already piquing interest among investors looking to diversify their property portfolios.
Sharjah’s Aljada master development near University City will offer individuals the opportunity to directly invest in student housing units for the first time. Ten buildings have been designated for the purpose, according to a recent news report in Gulf News.
In all, there will be 1,288 room properties and 2,600 bed spaces at the “Nest” – collective name for the 10-building cluster. The buildings are estimated to be ready by late 2021 and are situated right next to campuses with around 26,000 students on their rolls. The units are priced from AED 310,000, and available in studio and two- to eight-bed dormitory formats.
The launch comes at a time when student housing opportunities are rated as having some of the best returns in the current real estate market. Developers and specialist funds in Dubai are also starting to come on board, with Academic City along the Dubai-Al Ain road and the surrounding area being prime.
“Until now, property investors needed to pick up an entire building designated as student housing and not individual units,” said Ahmad Alkhoshaibi, CEO of Arada, the developer of Aljada, which will occupy a 24 million sq ft on completion. “We are opening up that market to individuals to come in and pick up single units or more.”
The American University of Sharjah and the University of Sharjah campuses are in close proximity to the project. According to Arada’s pre-launch survey for the Nest, 80 per cent of those at AUS come from outside of the UAE, which translates to sustained demand for student housing.
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Content and Communications Manager
Siddhi Sainani is a business and finance writer and a public relations professional with experience across markets in the UAE, Oman, India and the United States.
At Cavendish Maxwell, Siddhi is responsible for crafting research and marketing communications material for the firm’s various stakeholders including clients and government entities. She also leads the public relations activities for the firm, focusing on media outreach, reputation management and spokesperson profiling.
In her previous roles, Siddhi has reported on the financial markets for news outlets, developed institutional research for several institutions, and undertaken corporate communications initiatives for leading firms across sectors such as real estate, finance, banking, audit and advisory, and technology, among others.
Siddhi has a Bachelor of Mass Media degree with a specialisation in journalism and also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Integrated Communications covering advertising, marketing and public relations from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, India.
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Sarah-Jane Carter
BA (Hons) DipM
Head of Marketing
Sarah-Jane joined Cavendish Maxwell in January 2020 as Head of Marketing and is responsible for the development of the marketing strategy and execution across the Middle East region. An energetic and results driven marketer, Sarah-Jane possesses a wealth of multi-channel marketing experience, within both B2B and B2C environments which she has gained over a 25 year career. Prior to joining Cavendish Maxwell, Sarah-Jane held senior marketing positions for major developers in Dubai including Emaar, Dubai Properties and Dubai Sports City. She also worked for IWG as the Regional Marketing Director responsible for the MEA and APAC regions. Before relocating to the UAE in 2005, Sarah-Jane held various management roles in public and private sector companies in the UK including ten years at Royal Mail and seven years at the Bank of America.
Sarah-Jane is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and has a BA(Hons) Degree in Business and Marketing
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