Affordable House = International City This is a good question and I will answer this in detail as I imagine others would be asking the same.I am an Owner not a resident of International City so I will answer from an Investment View
1/ There is a combination of factors why I.C. is one of the most affordable projects in the City. This could be viewed as a blessing or a curse depending when you brought and what is your goal for investment. ( Short term flick it on the market again or long term future capital gain or cash flow with rent or become an owner occupier.Historically in Dubai most projects see a spike in sales price on completion of the project then after the dust settles and the neighborhood becomes established with trees,grass people you will see another spike in price if not a steady rise. I can not recall any project yet on completion in Dubai where the price has not increased. I.C. is still a work in progress which has upset many owners who were promised apartments and they have still not been handed over.Do a search on the board many complaints. Myself I had a 1 year delay. There are several threads on this board that discuss the location of the project next to the sewage works and comments from the press and people who have complained about the associated smell.
Past post on smell here Another here Lack of transport as well as promised infrastructure that has yet to emerge all contribute to the present price. Once all the above has been addressed prices will change.
2/ The normal clusters do not have a Gym or Pool. I understand that the large Buildings in the CBD district do. There are the odd Basket ball courts scattered around the complex. It is a concrete jungle very little greenery and
no parking spaces allocated out side on street side at all for shops 3/ All nationalities live in I.C., do not be put off by the Cluster name. I.C. has become known as one of if not the most affordable place's to rent an apartment . From a tenant view point great. From a future investor not so great but still OK. Why is this so when rent is at ridiculous prices any where else in Dubai? Look at the answer to question 1 PLUS the master developer Nahkeel released a lot of their own apartments onto the rental market in I.C. early this year at rental prices from 3 or 4 years ago. For example Nakheel were renting a studio for 32,000 Dirhams. I still do not understand why they did this when many people purchased in I.C. as an investment. My thoughts are that as Nakheel is owned by the Government of Dubai then this is the Government seen to be doing something other than a rental cap to assist those who must rent.
4/ Build Quality will depend on who built your building. My apartment the finish was not up to standard.
( I was told by Nakheel that my building contractor was one of the best!) Nakheel came back and re painted as well as re plastered several areas. They came back another time after I had water connected as there were water leaks. ( I was told this was common) When my tenant occupied the apartment Nakheel came back again to fix another water leak and also complete sloppy paint work. The response time with defects has been excellent, usually done the same day however one has to ask why was the project or building not inspected to a proper standard before handover?
The answer I received from Nakheel is that the building owner is given the opportunity to inspect the building and do a "snag check" My case the building owner did not do this. I also do not understand why Nahkeel did not have a quality control programe in place or if they do or did it was not working.
So is the I.C. a good investment? Depends again what you are in the market for. It is providing me with a 15% Gross or 13 % Net return on rental, however this is because I purchased off the plan.
Capital Gain wise will depend again when you purchased those who purchased 12 or 18 months ago will do very well in todays market. I decided to sell this year a 1 bedroom that I brought off the plan 3 years ago and Capital Gain was nearly non existent when I took into account all my charges.
Dubai enjoys one of if not the highest Hotel occupancy rates in the world (last I read was 85% last year) There is a shortage of rental accommodation due to Projects such as I.C. not coming on line as projected. This is forecast to continue in the future.
To sum up I believe I.C. is an affordable project that will generate cash flow and give you a Capital Gain Once the project is completed in full.
I.C. = affordable Housing not low cost housing. 
