1. INTERVIEW
72 Gulf Property
W
hen CEO Oriol
Font launched
‘Luxhabitat’ a
brokerage firm
trading in luxury
properties in Dubai, people
questioned why. It was mid-
2009 when he started the
business and the global eco-
nomic recession which befell
Dubai in late 2008, was
grinding the real estate sec-
tor with all its might.
At a time when people
were quitting the market,
Font, a Catalan entrepreneur
from Barcelona, living in
Dubai, started Luxhabitat out
of a plush office in Dubai
Media City. It comprises an
efficient team of 25, out of
which 15 are sales agents.
But initially generating busi-
ness was difficult, he admits.
The hurdles
Besides the financial crash
that had pounded the Dubai
real estate market, there was
another significant challenge
that Font faced. Luxhabitat
was trying to introduce the
concept of boutique luxury
properties, something that
was unprecedented not just
in Dubai, but also in the en-
tire region.
Although the luxury cate-
gory is an established mar-
ket in many Western nations,
none in the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) region
had yet traded exclusively in
the high-end sector, as Lux-
habitat did, according to
Font.
Thus Luxhabitat’s first cou-
ple of years after launch
were consumed in trying to
explain to people what it was
all about and the type of
services it was providing to
its clientele. The company
was precisely educating the
market, trying to explain the
difference between Luxhabi-
tat and ‘any other mass-mar-
ket real estate company’.
“In the beginning it was
quite difficult. Depending on
the nationalities of the clients
we had to explain to them
what we do, because they
were not used to companies
focussing on high-end resi-
dential properties,” Font ex-
plains.
“Clients from mature real
estate markets such as Eu-
rope and the US are used to
it, because there are compa-
nies focused on this niche
market. But here in the re-
gion the concept did not
exist, so obviously we had to
spend some time with clients
from the GCC, India and
Pakistan, and also from
Africa. We explained our
concept, how we were differ-
ent from our competitors, the
way we approach the busi-
ness, how do we market our
properties and also how do
we service our buyers and
sellers.”
But Font held on despite
the odds and the vagaries of
the market. Pre-2008, he ex-
plains, the Dubai market was
primarily investor-driven.
“Typically investors before
the recession did not pay
much attention to a crucial
aspect of our business: qual-
ity. They didn’t pay attention
to the layout, the materials
used, the design and the de-
velopment the facilities; be-
cause they were interested
in just buying and selling the
property as quickly as possi-
ble. So they did not care
much about the essential
concepts of property that are
central to an end-user’s de-
cision,” Font recollects.
The economic bust forced
out many speculators and in-
vestors playing in the market
for making a quick buck.
Such elements were re-
placed by the end-users,
which Font considered a
highly positive transforma-
tion. “So we saw the market
changing from an investor-
focussed market to one
where the end-users would
start to play a much bigger
role. We saw a significant
change in the market and
that is when we decided to
launch Luxhabitat, where we
focus on the luxury high-end
residential market. And our
clients are mostly end-
users,” he justifies.
Going strong
The patience and resilience
paid off. After the worst of the
economic recession got over,
Dubai began to re-emerge
post-2010. Authorities began
working round the clock to
boost market sentiments,
By Indrajit Sen
Senior Reporter
Luxury has a new
name: LuxhabitatA Dh55 million-worth plush villa
in Al Barari community that
Luxhabitat is selling
Luxury has a new
name: Luxhabitat
“In the beginning it was
quite difficult.
Depending on the
nationalities of the
clients we had to
explain to them what we
do, because they were
not used to companies
focussing on high-end
residential properties...”
– Oriol Font
CEO, Luxhabitat

2. INTERVIEW
Gulf Property 73
nation. So Dubai has done a
good job in several sectors
such in hospitality where you
have several hotels that are
international benchmarks but
in the residential real estate
market the quality that de-
mand HNWIs is still not
there. We clearly believe
there is room for improve-
ment, and the opportunity is
substantial for those real es-
tate developers that are will-
ing to cover this gap” Font
opines.
In the past 5 years, “we
have had many clients com-
ing from other international
hubs expecting the find bet-
safeguard the economy from
a similar crash in future and
introduced measures to re-
gain the confidence of global
investors.
High Net Worth Individuals
(HNWIs) responded with
warmth and started returning
to Dubai with their wealth
and businesses. And their
numbers have been growing
ever since.
“That’s why we feel our ap-
proach (to cater to the high-
end market) is right. The fact
that we are focussed on
high-end residential drives
the way we sell our proper-
ties. How we present our
products reflects upon the
profile of our sales team, be-
cause as I said we are deal-
ing with HNWIs and that
requires a suitable profile,”
Font states.
Luxhabitat began receiving
global clients, when the
Dubai market rebounded
with great resolve in the af-
termath of the recession.
“We are having clients com-
ing from major established
markets like London, and
they expect products to be of
very high quality.
The expectation is also
high because Dubai has
done a good job marketing
the city internationally and
branding it as a luxury desti-
ter quality properties in
Dubai. As I said before, the
quality in the residential real
estate sector is not good
enough for a good number of
them. For that reason, we
launched an in-house high-
end interior design service to
upgrade the properties to
their standards. We provide
a bespoke service taking
care of the entire process
and we have assembled a
very professional team that is
able to deliver exceptional
properties’.
Presently, Luxhabitat con-
centrates on properties in a
few ‘high-quality residential
areas’, where they are confi-
dent of bagging good prod-
ucts; they have 484 luxury
products in their portfolio cur-
rently. For villas, the firm con-
centrates on areas such as
Emirates Hills, Palm
Jumeirah, Al Barari,
Jumeirah Golf Estates, and
then also sources the best
upgraded properties in areas
such as Meadows, Arabian
Ranches, among others. For
penthouses and apartments,
they focus on districts such
as the Downtown, DIFC and
Dubai Marina, as Font feels
several projects in these lo-
cations ‘has the right quality
for our clients’. Even in these
earmarked locations, Lux-
habitat does ‘business only
in pockets’ and ‘in certain
handpicked buildings’; for ex-
ample Le Reve Tower in
Dubai Marina, which Font re-
veals is one of their core
buildings.
Given their emphasis on
high-end residential property,
Font reveals that Luxhabitat
mostly sells properties which
are above Dh5 million only.
“The real focus is on quality.
Few times we also do sell
properties below Dh5 million,
but it has to be of good qual-
ity and in a good location.
The average property trans-
action in 2014 was Dh14 mil-
lion,” he says. g
Oriol Font, CEO of Luxhabitat
484
luxury products in their
portfolio currently
Dh5 million
price cap above which the
company sells properties
Dh14 million
worth the average property
transaction for the company
in 2014
At A Glance
“We saw the market
changing from an
investor-focussed
market to one where the
end-users would start
to play a much bigger
role. We saw a
significant change in
the market and that is
when we decided to
launch Luxhabitat,
where we focus on the
luxury high-end
residential market. And
our clients are mostly
end-users...”
– Oriol Font
CEO, Luxhabitat