Despite the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak and social restrictions mandated by the UAE government as precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, UAE-headquartered upscale residential, hospitality, and commercial property developer Seven Tides is still receiving frequent sales enquiries, particularly for its Seven Palm development on Palm Jumeirah.

Seven Tides’ Seven Palm development consists of two projects, ‘Seven Palm Hotel Apartments’ and ‘Seven Palm Residences’. Construction work is now over 27% complete and scheduled for handover during Q4 2020.

According to the chief executive officer of Seven Tides, Abdulla bin Sulayem, the interest from investors is partly due to the volatile global financial markets that are making investors cautious and guiding them towards stable longer-term returns offered by off-plan developments.

In addition, Seven Tides has adapted its business model by using technology to overcome social restrictions, as well as to ease administrative and payment processes. Thus, demand in the firm’s developments has remained robust in spite of restrictions such as social distancing and quarantine measures implemented in the UAE.

Bin Sulayem explained: “We have introduced 3D virtual tours of our developments, so that investors can still make informed decisions from a distance, with sales support on-hand in real time, to answer any specific questions.

“In terms of administration, our support staff can help investors navigate their way through the process of contactless payments which can be made online, via cheque deposit, or electronic transfer. So, virtually, I think it would be fair to say that for Seven Tides, it is a case of business as usual, with the added benefit of keeping everybody safe,” bin Sulayem added.

Just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Seven Tides announced a 70% spike in sales, worth $27.22m (AED100m) for its residential and hotel apartments, with the Seven Palm development generating the lion’s share of sales revenue.

Bin Sulayem said: “This highlights another benefit of buying off-plan, with many developers such as Seven Tides offering attractive instalments that stretch all the way to handover and beyond, preserving in the main, the immediate cash position of investors, even though the return on bank deposits in many cases is negligible.”

“However, on the flip side, for those with access to credit, mortgage rates are highly attractive at present,” he added.