Inayat-ur-Rahman, Gulf Today

The Sharjah’s real estate sector has recorded massive growth during the first five months of this year due to increasing demands despite the COVID-19 challenges. The pandemic has proven that the real estate sector in Sharjah is strong and flourishing. in 2020, the industry recorded 5.1% growth compared to 2019 and saw real estate transactions increase to Dhs15.9 billion.

 Arada, a UAE-based property developer has awarded the first two contracts for Masaar, the 19 million square foot mega community based in the Suyoh district of Sharjah. The Dhs8 billion project was launched in January this year featuring 4,000 villa and townhouses set in eight gated communities, all located in a forested and nature-filled master plan.

The contract for infrastructure design and supervision consultancy services at Masaar was awarded to US engineering consultancy Parsons Overseas Limited, which will oversee all aspects of infrastructure delivery for the project, including roads, water, power and drainage, ensuring full integration with the overall master plan.

The contract to build the Masaar Experience Centre has been awarded to contracting company ASGC Construction. Construction will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed in six months. As part of the same contract, Masaar’s first property, a five-bedroom show villa in the Sendian district of the community, will also be built and completed by the end of 2021.

Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Arada, said: “This is a landmark moment in our journey at Masaar, a project that has been designed to set a new standard of living, not just for Sharjah but for residential communities throughout the region. We have witnessed strong demand for properties within the first phase of Masaar, in line with the robust performance of Sharjah’s real estate sector during the first five months of this year.”

Lying at the heart of the master plan, the Masaar Experience Centre will provide visitors and future residents with a glimpse of what life in the community will be like when it is complete. Its minimal design language reflects the architecture of Masaar while the transparency of the façade creates a dialogue between the interior spaces and the lush green landscape that embraces the building.

Masaar, or ‘path’ in Arabic, has been carefully designed to enable its residents to transform their lives by encouraging healthy living in harmony with nature. Featuring over 50,000 trees, Masaar’s signature feature is a lushly landscaped and walkable ‘green spine’ that will be activated by footpaths, cycle tracks, passive zones and a range of different sporting facilities.

Sales for the 445 homes in the first district of Masaar, Sendian, began in January, and Arada remains on schedule to launch the second phase of sales by the end of this year. Ranging in size from two-bedroom townhouses to five-bedroom Sendian Park Villas, every unit has smart home features as standard and all are located close to the leisure and entertainment zone in the heart of Masaar. The first homes in Sendian are scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.

Masaar is ideally located in the up-and-coming Suyoh district, close to Tilal City, the Sharjah Mosque and Arada’s first project, Nasma Residences. The community has easy access to Emirates Road and Mleiha Road, and is 15 minutes’ drive from Sharjah International Airport, and 20 minutes’ drive from Dubai International Airport. The location offers a convenient and traffic-free commute from Sharjah to Dubai or the Northern Emirates.

Based in the UAE, Arada is a developer that has been created to build communities that enrich, engage and inspire their residents. Our homes are exceptionally designed and are complemented with best-in-class amenities, all provided at an accessible price point. Arada was founded in 2017 by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Basma Group, and HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, founding Chairman of KBW Investments, with the intention of delivering superior properties to the UAE real estate segment.

Meanwhile, according to the report issued by the Real Estate Registration Department in Sharjah last month, the emirate real estate sector achieved a volume of transactions amounting to Dhs 6.7 billion during the first quarter of 2021, with a growth rate of 84.9% compared to the first quarter of 2020. Furthermore, the total number of transactions executed in the past three months reached 20,448 transactions, with an increase of 10.3% compared to the same period last year. In addition, the total traded area in the emirate reached 60.3 million square feet.