World’s Tallest Building Finished

The 253-story, Burj Khalifa cost $1.5 billion to build, said Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of developer Emaar Properties PJSC. While mainly residential, the building will have 37 floors of office and retail space.

During the five years of the tower’s construction the sheikhdom’s debt-fueled property market went from the world’s best performing to the worst, forcing officials to renegotiate loans and seek bailouts from Abu Dhabi. The Burj’s occupancy rate may reach 75 percent this year, with office leasing proving the biggest challenge for investors.There are currently many investors in Pattaya from Dubai seeking investment oppurtunities as the market in Pattaya has shown signs of a recovery.Construction is expected to begin soon on Thailand's tallest building, Ocean 1 in Jomtien.

Burj Khalifa has a height of 828 meters. Apartment prices in the tower, formerly known as Burj Dubai, have fallen to less than half of the 10,000 dirhams ($2,700) a square foot that they reached at the 2008 peak.

Dubai real-estate prices have fallen by 52 percent since the market’s peak as owners struggle to cope with thousands of empty properties started before the global credit crisis stifled investment. Even after developers canceled billions of dollars worth of projects, enough new buildings will come onto the market this year to push down prices further.

The Dubai tower is the most expensive square footage in the region.The residential part of the building will have fitness facilities, a library, a cigar club, valet parking and a gourmet market.