Real Estate is a growing business that has evolved over the years. It provides financial security, tax benefits, consistent income and many more benefits. More importantly, real estate is a business that makes dreams come true by giving people the desired house that they change into a home. Azizi Developments is the real estate investment arm of Azizi Group and has a long history of successful business practices. They are committed to their international mission of developing lifestyles and enriching the lives of their residents through exceptional master-planned communities, with a focus on catalyzing the UAE’s vision and development. As a leading developer, they envision – and strive to offer – elegantly-designed world-class homes that are affordable and yield high rental returns. At the core of their operations are several key pillars – the most important of which is customer-centricity. Moreover, the importance of transparency, honesty, a construction- and research-driven approach and proactive technology adoption are all guiding notions that they believe determine the success of their business. As we share a few intriguing insights from the CEO of Azizi Developments, Farhad Azizi, we are certain that the journey of Azizi Developments will be an inspiration for every aspiring individual.
The Foundation of an Empire
Azizi Developments is proud, and consider themselves very fortunate, to have had the chance to actively contribute to the development of Dubai and to grow as part of such an awe-inspiring city. Much like this Emirate, which they call their home, they have grown very rapidly. They have continuously adapted to market trends, and through their comprehensive, research-based approach, they tailor their offerings to their customers’ specific needs.
While the Dubai real estate sector has faced some challenges, Azizi Development’s sales have seen a robust growth since December 2018. Developers are being put to the test, and only those who adapt to the changing circumstances by implementing a more customer-centric, transparent, honest, and research-driven approach can thrive. They have marked 2019 as their Year of Construction, investing all their energy into the timely construction of their projects. They have achieved significant construction milestones across all their developments by working with established contractors. Several Azizi’s prestigious residential developments are in their final stages of completion, with thousands of units being completed this year.
In July and August of 2008, their clients approached them, gravely concerned that they were unable to continue their payments. Azizi Developments, much like all real estate developers, received many requests for projects to be stopped and for deposits to be returned.
Despite all the chaos occurring around them, they are proud to say that they were one of the very few developers to have done this. With the help of the Dubai Land Department, they investigated every case individually and handed back all deposits except for one – a deposit of AED 76,000 that belonged to an individual that they were unable to find. They returned a total of AED 149 million that was already spent on the design, marketing and land payments, and that was not sourced from an escrow account, as a gesture of goodwill.
The Fundamental Factors of Azizi Development
Azizi Developments is a leading developer based in Dubai, UAE. With over 11,000 residential units sold and thousands of homes successfully delivered to local and international investors and end users of over 100 nationalities, the developer prides itself on its extensive portfolio of modern luxury developments across Dubai’s most sought-after residential destinations, its construction-driven approach, and its commitment to transparency and customer centricity. Azizi’s properties offer strong ROIs, catering to all lifestyles. The developer makes it its international mission to develop lifestyles and enrich the lives of its residents with a focus on catalyzing the vision and development of the markets that it operates in.
Since Azizi’s inception, its contractors have casted over 488 slabs, poured over 1.8 million tons of concrete, erected over 58 cranes, and constructed over 1.68 million sq m of built-up area across its projects. Moreover, Azizi currently has 54 ongoing projects that are to be delivered between 2019 and 2023, and an additional 100+ projects in planning, that will potentially be delivered between 2023 and 2025.
Azizi has a strong track record and sizeable project pipeline through its extensive land bank strategic partnerships with Dubai’s key master developers, allowing it to launch and develop new residential and commercial properties worth several billion US dollars in the coming years. The company is a keen advocate of the UAE Vision 2021 and has been instrumental in developing iconic properties in Meydan, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Healthcare City, Al Furjan, Studio City, Sports City and Downtown Jebel Ali.
They have also launched new residential projects, such as BAYT by Azizi in Dubai Sports City, and introduced the concept of short-term rental homes whereby customers are assured higher returns by having their owned homes managed and serviced for them. They have also extended the concept to their flagship, master-planned community, Riviera.
The Growth Strategy of Azizi Developments
Azizi Developments is on a promising growth trajectory indeed, guided by their customer-centric and research-driven approach. They have grown very rapidly over the past decades, at a pace that they are well-positioned to keep up, especially considering all the previously mentioned stats. Trust is a key driver of off-plan property sales – now of purchase, they are essentially selling a promise rather than a tangible product. Therefore, without trust, there would be no off-plan sales. There is a direct correlation between customer trust levels and the success of their business. Trust can only be achieved through transparency in today’s digital era of immediate knowledge transfer. This is what Azizi Developments will continue to focus on, and what will be key in sustaining their growth.
Moreover, there are multiple factors that play a pivotal role in ensuring a continued growth trajectory and many ways in which they constantly revolutionize their offerings and cater to specific customer needs to stay relevant and thrive. Bayt by Azizi, for example, a new short-term rental home concept through which investors can yield higher returns by having their owned apartments managed and serviced for them, is their response to a growing market need for short-term housing, complementing Dubai’s tourism development strategy. They plan to extend this model to several of their residential buildings in the city, in line with their commitment to creating sustained value for their customers.
Azizi Developments is also receiving a strong response to Riviera, their flagship waterfront development in Mohammed bin Rashid City, which comprises more than 16,000 residences spread across 71 mid-rise buildings, overlooking an extensive retail boulevard, a canal walk, and Les Jardins, a lush-green social space. With its strategic location near the upcoming Meydan One Mall and the Meydan Racecourse — home of the Dubai World Cup — as well as all major business and leisure hubs, this is one of their most sought-after developments.
All their developments are in up-and-coming strategic locations in high-growth corridors of the city, offering ease of access to all the major business and leisure hubs. Their projects assure strong return on investments through rental yields and value appreciation, and they offer flexible payment plans, especially through their partnership with Dubai Islamic Bank, enabling more customers to move from rental living to owned homes. All of this is driven by their continuous pursuit to be the most customer-centric developer, underlined by their research- and construction-focused approach, which they believe will continue to enhance customer happiness. This is the best form of marketing, as happy customers drive repeat purchases and positive word-of-mouth.
The Leader of Successful Business
As the Chief Executive Officer of Azizi Developments and Vice Chairman of the Azizi Group, Farhad Azizi has the pleasure of overseeing the company’s operations, leading the strategy, and guiding the direction of the managerial team. His background is in banking, construction, oil & gas, and hospitality, and has previously served as a board member for Afghanistan Islamic Bank. He considers himself a global citizen, holding passports from Germany and Afghanistan and having studied at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and The Boston University where he did his MBA. Farhad’s wife is from Germany, and his children are growing up bilingually in Dubai – an outstandingly international environment. He is passionate about the Dubai market and next-gen technologies, doing his very best to stay up to date on all emerging trends, especially in real estate, to leverage these to the benefit of their customers and stakeholders. “It has been a rewarding journey for us.”, says Farhad.
Farhad is a self-motivated leader and spreads the same vibes amongst his team members. “Fostering a strong sense of belonging and keeping employees happy is an area that we have recently started focusing on more. Happy employees make for happy customers. We’ve implemented internal reward schemes, employee engagement initiatives, and are doing our very best to foster an uninhibited, creative, proactive next gen working environment that welcomes suggestions and is guided by an open-door policy. We want our employees to be free to approach their CEO and respective line managers with suggestions, ideas and constructive feedback.” He shares.
The Distinctive Factor
First and foremost, Azizi Developments strive to be the most customer-centric developer by keeping their customers at the very forefront of all their decisions. Customers are the core of their business and the reason Azizi Developments is what it is today. There are several ways in which they continuously improve customer experience, such as by researching and tailoring their products and services to their specific needs, reinforcing their customer care team, and enhancing their communications with them. What makes customers the happiest, though, is a solid ROI. They therefore make sure that every unit yields them a substantial return on their investment, which ensures their satisfaction and converts them into repeat customers.
Moreover, they are committed to the highest levels of transparency in everything they do. Investors and stakeholders must be kept up to date on completion progress, company announcements, and any other information that is relevant and useful to them. The company has therefore recently implemented more comprehensive monthly email newsletters and have increased the frequency and quality of communication channels. What sets Azizi Developments apart is their research-driven approach. They have a dedicated research and development department that conducts in-depth research to uncover market trends and customer needs, using advanced research methodologies and technologies, such as machine learning algorithms.
They have strong customer bases in India, Pakistan, China, Russia, the UK and most importantly, in the UAE. They are seeing an increase in demand among young professional millennials who are becoming increasingly aware of the benefit of moving from home renting to ownership. One of the many ways in which they cater to this segment, which their research finds is often anxious due to a fear of commitment, is by offering revolutionary payment plan options, such as through their partnership with Dubai Islamic Bank, which grants them monthly payment plans with 0% down payment.
The Customer’s Choice
The most important lesson they have learned from the crisis is to prioritise their customers, at all times. Markets will always have their ups and downs, and those who listen to their customers closely and adapt accordingly, keeping their best interest at the forefront of every business decision that they make, can overcome dips and thrive. They therefore strive to be the most customer-centric developer in the UAE and beyond by not only continuously improving their experience with them, but by also enhancing trust and transparency and making sure that their properties grant them the highest possible ROIs. Without trust, there would be no off-plan property market. They are therefore committed to the highest levels of transparency in everything they do, from marketing and sales to operations and delivery. What makes customers the happiest, though, is a strong return on their investment. The convenient and flexible payment plans they create are put in place to cater to customer needs and are an adaptation to the changing market sentiment being guided by the growing interest in moving from rental living to owned homes.
The Plan of Success for the Future
“We are committed to our international mission of developing lifestyles and enriching the lives of our residents with a focus on catalysing the vision and development of the markets that we operate in. We intend to become the real estate developer of choice for the new generation, working together with the leadership of Dubai to continuously innovate.”, says, Farhad.
Another innovation is their short-term home rental concept that provides customers the option to reside in their apartments as they please while allowing Azizi Developments to rent them out in the interim, granting more flexibility and maximum occupancy. Investors can still choose to live in their properties, rent them out for the long-term, or sell them, with the short-term letting process ensuring a substantially higher ROI. This outstanding new concept is their response to a growing market need for short-term housing and complements the tourism development strategy of Dubai. They plan to extend this model to several of their residential buildings in the city, in line with their commitment to creating sustained value for their customers.
They strive to be the most customer-centric developer. To Azizi Developments, this entails upholding the high level of trust and transparency that is essential to the industry they operate in. It also means keeping a construction- and research-driven approach at the core of their operations to ensure that they meet investor demands and aspirations. Azizi Developments have further expansion plans in high-growth markets that offer strong development prospects, such as Abu Dhabi, Germany, France, and the UK, as well as Saudi Arabia. They are looking forward to sharing more information on this in due course. They want to demonstrate that a UAE-based developer can establish iconic properties across the world.
