Selling off-plan a 'dead marketing tool'

Selling off-plan, a trend in the UAE that precipitated the property bubble and subsequent crash, is “a dead marketing tool.” This is the view of Hazem S Al Nowais, COO of Waha Land, developer of the Al Markaz Industrial Estate in Abu Dhabi. “We had to wait for the right time and the right completion. I think the market now very much wants to see finished, quality product,” says Al Nowais. Phase 1 of Al Markaz is approaching completion. “Not only is off-plan really a dead marketing tool, I think off-plan for industrial units is not even an option. I mean you can market an apartment or office off plan in days gone by, but I think to market an industrial warehouse is ridiculous. “So we waited for the right time. We started our marketing campaign about six weeks ago; we targeted what we thought was the market segment that would be looking at this, and the response has been good to date.”