I agree with Rudeboy
The reason why Ajman is popular is because of its proximity to Dubai - not because of any great things in Ajman. Property just 20 minutes down the same road (in Dubai) is 3 to 4 times more expensive and I agree that the growth rate in Ajman will be better than Dubai in the future as it catches up a bit with Dubai

However Ajman City is a real dump. Most people though are not buying in the city but in the 'new ajman' area which surrounds Emirates Road and they say that most of the people living here will actually be working in or have links with Dubai rather than Ajman city. I can see this happening. If you think of new ajman as a commuting suburb of Dubai then suddenly it becomes very attractive.

InfoGuru
I too have been considering this new ajman area. I noticed you were considering purchasing a 2 bedroom in the GSS property promoted by Openshore. What are your views on this property - Is it a good buy in this area? Have you got more information on it.

Crofty2000
I am not sure I will purchase as I am a bit nervous about the exchange rate. One pound is only buying 6.5 Dirhams now and this makes all UAE property a bit more expensive in terms of pounds and would stretch my budget if it goes even lower.
However, I have had really good service from Openshore and they have provided a lot of information about the market, the general area and buying procedures. I did also visit their offices which were just off the M65 near Burnley. They seem to be a very professional company with large offices and deal with many other developers and not just GSS. They were the only company that also explained the risk of buying property in the UAE as well as the benefits.
I don't know much about GSS Real Estate but from what I have seen of their website they seem like any other average UAE developer. At the end of the day, no matter how good Openshore are, you will be buying from the developer and not Openshore. However, the feedback on this thread is generally very positive and customers are getting thier agreements promptly. If you want more information, its best to go to this link to download their brochures. www.openshoreproperty.com or go directly for this property to this link Openshore Property 3

is there an escrow account for this project or being offered by the developer?

i am thinking of buying a 3 bedroom appartment but not sure what its rent will be. currently rent in shj for 3 bedroom is anything above 60,000 dhs. rent in ajman for 3 bedroom is starting from 30,000 dhs. so whats the expected rent for "new ajman". anyone?

I would urge people to invest now rather than later, the market for new Ajman is creeping upto 700/sq meter,
I expect the Bank of England to cut interest rates very soon because of the risks of a major recession and this would lead to a rally for the pound against the dollar. As you know the pound is a risk averse currency more linked to gold, where as the dollar is more linked to equity and oil.
Although oil priced are reducing the demand for oil especially in China and India cannot be met with current supply and OPEC will not increase production simply because the oil supply in the world is finite and running out
Trouble is if you wait, the price of property will only increase, There is talk of a correction of Dubai prices in 2009 as supply meets demand , but because of big time sky scrapers like the Burj ect.. and the fact that buildings are not built on schedule, i would speculate to say that prices in New Ajman which is marketed as a commuters haven for people escaping the high Dubai prices will only increase

At the end of the day when you invest, you are ultimately looking for value for money and i would say at current prices properties in New Ajman are excellent value for money, and if you have the funds to invest(especially if you dont have to borrow) you are most likely not going to go wrong.

The only real risk with buying offplan is if the developers fail to complete the project. So it is really wise to check out the background of the developers, in this case the developers GSS have there fingers in many pies and have an international presence, even being involved in the aviation industry.

From the comments hear and from my ear to the ground, this particular project is selling fast, plus they have an excellent PR /marketing organisation openshore,
Keeping your pounds in an account with inflation rates the way they are , plus taxes even if you put your money in an ISA account doesn't make much sense.

Conflict of Interest: I have already invested in GSS/Openshore

the new power plant is being build in 2011 but since this is UAE and there are delays you can guess it will be completed in 2012. so any properties constructed before that time in new ajman will not be guaranteed with electricity. so is Ajman really worth it?

2ndly i dont know if anyone has noticed this but if u ask the developers in ajman for discount they will give it to you. hmmm fishy looks like they are desperate to sell.

prices in ajman are cheap but does that mean you will get something with quality?

My actual experience of Ajman (over the past 10 months or so) has been that prices are going up every month. I was going to buy a large 2 bedroom apartment for around £65K in January- it was coming in at around 400 AED/ sq ft then. That same property is now 530 AED per sqft. Now the pricing in most of the areas is 500 to 620 AED per sqft, although I accept it does vary quite a bit from area to area and from development to development. Thus already in 8 months I have seen a price increase of about 35%. The forcast is that prices in New Ajman to go well beyond 700 AED/ sq ft by January and I think this is likely. I know several friends who have sold thier apartment in Dubai and have purchased multiple off plan properties in Ajman because they think the growth rate is going to be higher in Ajman than in Dubai (going foreward).

thats all true but with so many properties in ajman will anyone be ready to buy them? as for the prices I can tell you you will be finding loads of ppl selling at distress price been offered 485 dhs sq/ft in emirates city. ALso if you go to ANY devloper in Ajman and ask for discount they will be willing to give it to you. Y? maybe they are desperate to sell?

cheap doesnt mean good quality all the time. with so many projects going on in Ajman will anyone live in Ajman? look at the projects going on in Sharjah alone. Y would anyone want to live in Ajman. Yes its only 20 minutes away from Dubai. But with traffic and proposed salik planned I dont think ppl will want to live in Ajman. They would prefer Sharjah or outer skirts of Dubai like International City which is already getting gains cos of its close approximatey to dubai down town. areas like Lagoons havent even started yet. International City phase 2 will be coming up so with all these projects going on and once completed would you live in Ajman or dubai if you work in Dubai?

485 dhs was the launch price in April 2008 and 5 months on the seller wants the same price. says alot about ajman.

InfoGuru
I have also heard that Ajman prices are likely to go beyond 700 AED/sq ft and you are right, prices at the beginning of this year were around 400 AED/sqft. With properties 25 minutes down the same road, in Dubailand, of the same spec, with the same developers being 3 times more expensive I do beilieve Ajman will do very well and the growth rate here will be better than the growth rate in Dubai which I think is likely to slow down a little.

Yes
Several of my contacts who bought in Dubai a few years ago are selling their apartments now and buying fresh off plan in Ajman. Did you get an invite from Openshore & GSS to visit their stand at the Overseas Property Investor Show at Excel, London this coming weekend? If so are you going?