Lights shimmer at night in the Durrat Al Bahrain resort development, which has 15 artificial islands, some shaped like atolls or fish.
The villa’s decking comprises ceramic tiles designed to resemble parquet, and the lighted pool is lined with colorful custom Art Deco-style tiles.
An en suite bathroom has walls of black Marquina marble and white marble mosaic floors. The vanity is terrazzo stone top with Burmese teakwood framing.
The guest bathroom has a jade marble wall and a custom vanity with floral-patterned basin, Corian countertop and a ceiling-mounted faucet.
The primary bathroom is finished with Vietnam white marble, along with a Calacata marble-topped vanity and a glass-walled shower with Burmese teak flooring.
A second bedroom has a flat-screen television and a built-in wardrobe. It also accesses the balcony.
The primary bedroom accesses a large balcony looking out to the Gulf. Floors are heavy duty French parquet.
A view of the entrance hall. Villa interiors were designed by Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, an artist and member of the Bahraini royal family.
The open-plan living and dining area has a ceiling of timber-fluted panels and adjoins the kitchen with a breakfast bar.
The living room has floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that open to the pool terrace and views of the Persian Gulf.
The villa has a 22-by-15-foot swimming pool and a view of one of the bridges connecting the Durrat Al Bahrain resort development to the main Bahrain Island.
This waterfront three-bedroom villa, built circa 2009 on a manmade island in the Durrat Al Bahrain resort development in Bahrain, is on the market for $1.03 million.
This waterfront three-bedroom villa, built circa 2009 on a manmade island in the Durrat Al Bahrain resort development in Bahrain, is on the market for $1.03 million.
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Despite rapid population growth and an influx of foreigners, Bahrain has seen a softening residential market due to an oversupply of housing.
This three-bedroom waterfront villa sits on an artificial island in the Persian Gulf, part of a massive resort development called Durrat Al Bahrain, off the southeastern tip of Bahrain Island, the largest island in the archipelago of Bahrain. The modern-style, concrete-and-brick villa was built circa 2009 on a 0.18-acre lot and completely refurbished last spring, said Jacqueline Maxwell, a senior sales and leasing agent with Savills Middle East, which has the listing. With about 3,200 square feet of living space, the house includes rooms for a maid and driver. The interiors were designed by Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, an artist and member of the Bahraini royal family. Furniture is included in the asking price.
The front door opens to an entrance hall with a guest bathroom and the maid’s quarters to the left. Straight ahead is the open-plan living and dining area, with a ceiling of timber fluted panels and integrated lighting. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors open to the pool terrace and views of the Gulf. There are two kitchens; the main one has a breakfast bar opening to the living area, Corian work tops and stainless-steel Bosch appliances, Ms. Maxwell said. A timber staircase with a glass balustrade ascends to the three en suite bedrooms, each with French parquet flooring and built-in wardrobes. The primary bedroom and an adjacent bedroom have access to a large balcony overlooking the water. The primary bathroom is finished with Vietnam white marble, while the other bathrooms are finished in different types of marble, terrazzo and Burmese teakwood.
The property is landscaped with Washingtonia palm trees, along with various shrubs and plants that can tolerate heat and salt, Ms. Maxwell said. The villa’s carport is covered by new Ferrari parking shades, she said. The property is on an island called Petal 2 in Durrat Al Bahrain, a resort development of 15 artificial islands, some shaped like fish or atolls, connected by causeways and bridges. The reclaimed lands, planned to accommodate up to 60,000 residents and 5,000 visitors upon completion, are home to thousands of villas and apartments, along with hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, promenades, sports facilities, spas and a marina.
White sands trim the various islands, and the villa is about 1,100 feet from a beach. While there are services like groceries and mosques in Durrat Al Bahrain, hospitals and the international school are about a 30-minute drive away in Riffa, and the villa is about an hour south of Manama, the Bahraini capital, and the international airport, Ms. Maxwell said. The Kingdom of Bahrain, an archipelago between Saudi Arabia and Qatar that comprises the main Bahrain Island and dozens of smaller islands, has grown in popularity with foreign retirees and investors, due in part to the allure of a safe and quiet lifestyle, the low cost of living and a cosmopolitan population. Considered more liberal than nearby countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Bahrain, for instance, allows women to work and drive. And while Arabic is the national language, English is widely spoken.
Despite increasing population growth and an influx of foreign residents, Bahrain has experienced a softening residential market in recent years due to an oversupply of housing, brokers said. “A high volume of apartments and villas have entered the market over the past three years,” Ms. Maxwell said. “Also, purchase is mainly for investment, and given the tepid demand in the rental market, there has been a consequential impact on the sales market.”
Apartment prices fell 9.5 percent in the first quarter of 2022 from the first quarter of 2020, and villa prices dropped 3.5 percent over the same period, she said. “The travel restrictions, quarantines and drop in tourism naturally impacted the residential market due to restrictions that limited viewings,” Ms. Maxwell said. Now, with the restrictions lifted and buyers returning, “the numbers are on the way to returning to prepandemic levels,” she said. During the past year, apartment prices have increased about 2.3 percent, Mr. Khan said. In the first quarter of this year, average apartment prices were at 878 dinars a square meter ($215 a square foot) for mid- to high-end two-bedroom properties across Bahrain, compared with 831 dinars a square meter ($203 a square foot) in 2021, according to CBRE’s Bahrain Market Review Q1 2022. The price of villas also increased by about 4 percent, he said.
With a system of government and private notaries to transact sales, a lawyer isn’t necessary, Ms. Maxwell said. Government registration fees come to 1.7 percent of the sales price if paid within 90 days, and 2 percent thereafter up to one year, she said. The buyer and seller each pay a 1 percent commission to the broker. Several banks and finance companies in Bahrain will offer mortgages to foreigners, monitored by the Kingdom’s single regulator, the Central Bank of Bahrain. “Most banks in Bahrain provide up to 80 to 90 percent financing to purchase villas, apartments or lands for Bahrainis, although this amount is lower for foreign buyers, closer to 75 percent,” Ms. Maxwell said. “The bank lending rates in Bahrain fall in a range of 5 to 7 percent.”
