Rizwan Sajan, Chairman of Danube Group, has built an empire on making affordable homes accessible to all. As new initiatives for first-time buyers open up new markets, he says Dubai's real estate boom is only just getting started.

From a Few Thousand Dirhams to a Property Empire

When Rizwan Sajan arrived in Dubai in 1993, he had a few thousand dirhams, an entrepreneurial vision and an eye for opportunity. Thirty years on, he heads a property and construction empire and is one of the region's most influential developers. Having started out trading building materials, he launched Danube Properties in 2014. As of August 2025, the company had more than 21,000 residential units and had launched 35 projects, 18 delivered and 17 under construction.

Lifestyle, Not Just Real Estate

Sajan's 1% payment plan lets middle-income buyers purchase homes with monthly instalments as low as 1% of the property's value, opening access to quality housing while still offering the amenities expected of luxury property, something he says matters more and more to buyers. "Today's buyer is not looking for normal real estate. Earlier, you could give them a nice apartment and a good building, and they'd be happy. Today, they want a lifestyle, not only the gym and the pool. We try to pamper the customers so much, and that's what the customer looks at," he explains.

Backing the First-Time Buyer Programme

The Dubai Land Department is now introducing a programme for first-time home buyers that is rewriting the rules of ownership, and Sajan is embracing it. "When we came into the business, my whole objective was to go to first-time buyers who could not get a loan from the bank, especially for the offline properties, and that's how we came up with this 1% payment plan," he says. "When a first-time buyer is looking for a payment plan, they are looking for flexibility in the detailed payment. So this is a very good initial initiative from the land department to attract people to come, especially first-time buyers. Don't miss it, because this is a great opportunity." Read more about Danube's first-time buyer initiative.

Still Affordable by Global Standards

With initiatives making ownership more affordable and luxury the norm, Sajan believes recent price growth will continue for some time. Rather than deterring buyers, he says that is all the more reason to buy, especially as Dubai remains much more affordable than other major global cities.

"The prices in Dubai are much lower than if you compare them with the international market. We are two and a half times cheaper than Singapore, two times cheaper than Shanghai, and five times cheaper than Hong Kong. In the West, we are three times cheaper than central London. In Europe, you take developed cities in Germany, France, or Monaco, where we are three, four, or five times cheaper," he insists. "Dubai is still at the beginning. It's going to go up and up. I am expecting another 15-20% growth every year in terms of rental, in terms of appreciation, provided you buy from the right developer at the right location. And this will keep on continuing."