Durar Development

Developer overview

Durar Group traces its real estate story to the Al Habib family in Riyadh in the 1930s. According to its about page, the family brought that business to Dubai in 2007. The name Durar comes from the Arabic for pearls or jewels, a theme the company uses throughout its branding, and it describes its principles as precision in design, strong partnerships and reliable delivery.

Durar's website splits its projects into current and completed. Current projects include Trio Isle and Moonstone, both with interiors by Missoni, Masa Residence with interiors by Yoo, and J ONE. Completed projects include Jasmine Lane, with interiors by Elie Saab, Durar 1, Sidra Tower and Latifa Towers. Several of these projects pair Durar with a design brand or a development partner, so the names on marketing material and on legal documents may differ.

Portfolio and locations

The Durar projects that link to current DPF listings are:

• Durar 1 – a completed mid-rise residential building in Dubailand Residence Complex, with retail at ground level and a family focus. DPF also groups it under Dubailand. See Dubailand Residence Complex listings, the Dubailand Residence Complex area guide and Dubailand listings.
• J ONE by RKM Durar – twin towers on Marasi Drive in Business Bay, along the Dubai Canal, which Durar describes as part of the Burj Khalifa District. Durar developed J ONE with RKM Real Estate, and the project includes apartments, villas and integrated retail. See Business Bay listings and the Business Bay area guide.

Property types

Durar's Dubai stock ranges from mid-rise family apartments at Durar 1 to designer-branded homes in its newer projects. J ONE combines apartments with villa-style units and shops in a twin-tower scheme. Because interior partners such as Missoni, Yoo and Elie Saab shape the finish of individual projects, compare a listing only with similar units in the same building.

What buyers should verify

1. The developer on the documents. J ONE is a joint project with RKM Real Estate. Confirm which entity is named on the sale agreement and Oqood certificate and which will issue the NOC.
2. Official channels only. Durar has published a notice warning that a project called Elara, marketed on Al Marjan Island, falsely claims an affiliation with Durar. Check any project's link to Durar on Durar's own website before paying.
3. Construction stage. For current projects such as J ONE, check registered progress with the Dubai Land Department's Project Status Enquiry service.
4. Community name. Durar places Durar 1 in Dubailand Residence Complex; confirm the community on the title deed.

Finding distressed and below-market Durar properties

Durar's resale market has two sides. At Durar 1, a completed building, a distress sale usually comes from an owner who needs to sell quickly, for example to relocate or clear a loan. At J ONE and Durar's other current projects, distressed property in Dubai more often means an off-plan resale, or assignment, where the seller passes on the contract and the buyer continues the payment plan. A motivated seller may label either as an urgent sale or invite cash buyer deals. Below original price (below OP) means the seller is asking less than their original contract figure, while below market value means the price is under recent sales of similar units in the same building.

Durar's warning about unaffiliated projects is a reminder that low prices attract imitators. Deal only with a verified seller, ask the developer for a statement of account showing the outstanding balance, confirm whether a bank holds a mortgage, and check what the developer requires before issuing the NOC that the Dubai Land Department needs to register the sale. For an off-plan J ONE unit, also confirm the seller's Oqood registration and ask both partners, through the seller, which of them handles transfer requests. Payments should go only through accounts named in the registered documents, never to an intermediary who cannot show authority from the developer.