Sherwoods Independent Property Consultants (SIPC) has announced that it will provide more flexible services and packages to adjust pricing and payment strategies to better reflect market conditions.

The property specialist expects Dubai buyers to enjoy greater leverage in negotiating prices and payments with developers mainly due to strong competition from the secondary market, which has resulted in a broader range of investment options.

A February 2009 review of the Dubai property landscape predicts that market dynamics will continue to shift in favor of tenants as more stock is introduced within the year.

This general outlook has substantially redirected the real estate sector’s focus from supply to demand factors.

“Current market conditions call for more attention to customer needs and expectations, which has become our primary concern as we enter into the rationalization phase following the start of the credit crunch,” said Iseeb Rehman, managing director, SIPC.

“We have to be more flexible as Dubai streamlines its property business in anticipation of a steady industry rebound towards the end of the year. Times have changed, developers simply cannot prioritize the project over the client anymore,” he added.

Dubai’s real estate activities are expected to significantly rally sometime within the second half of 2009. Recent developments such as the introduction of a domestic rental index by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) are already creating greater market stability and optimism.

Sherwoods expects other trends such as increased developer mergers and acquisitions and further reductions in construction costs to expedite market recovery in the last two quarters of the year.

Sherwoods intends to capitalise on the opportunities being opened up by the current transition period through several strategic operational initiatives as well as attractive offers for its clients.

The company recently predicted that the market transparency promoted by the Rera index – a revised version of which will be released in April - as well as increasing project affordability would help restore balance throughout Dubai’s rent market in 2009.

Sherwoods’ service portfolio includes search and acquisition of properties, offshore company information, selling of properties, mortgage services, valuation and appraisal, legal and tax services, and lettings and management. – TradeArabia News Service