Dubai’s real estate continued to attract investors and end-users as home sales surged on rising demand in April despite a steady rise in prices, the latest data shows.

Home sales recorded year-on-year growth of 55.9 per cent last month as the demand for villas and apartments remained intact. However, home sales transactions registered a 17.4 per cent decline month-on-month basis.

“The month-on-month performance saw cash and mortgage sales of ready properties decline 13 per cent and off-plan Oqood (contract) registrations down 23.3 per cent,” according to the ValuStrat Price Index (VPI).

In another development, Property Finder’s proprietary demand data showed that the emirate recorded 6,983 real estate sales transactions worth Dh18.2 billion in April, the highest ever for the month since 2009.

Secondary market sales transactions, comprising 60 per cent of the total, constituted 4,212 transactions worth Dh12.86 billion, while off-plan properties, comprising the remaining 40 per cent, constituted 2,771 properties worth a total of Dh5.33 billion.

The real estate witnessed 45.48 per cent more transactions this April this year compared to the same month last year, resulting in a 66.62 per cent spike in value. This is broken down into a 46.2 per cent increase in the secondary volume and a 63.86 per cent increase in value, as well as a 44 per cent increase in off-plan sales transactions and a 73.68 per cent increase in value, according to Property Finder’s data.

“All eyes were on the real estate performance post Expo 2020, and with April 2022 performing the highest since 2009, the data is a strong testament to the growing appeal for the Dubai Real Estate Market. We also see a positive sentiment for investment opportunities following various governmental initiatives, including the recent new categories added to the golden visa rules, making Dubai’s properties one of the most preferred investment assets for the long term,” said Scott Bond, UAE country manager at Property Finder.

Haider Tuaima, director and head of real estate research at ValuStrat, said Dubai real estate prices would continue to rise this year but at a slower pace.

“So far, transaction volumes have exceeded forecasts; however, as prices increase to potentially unaffordable levels, together with rising interest rates, we don’t expect this trend will continue at the same pace seen in 2020 and 2021. Residential transactions in April declined 17.4 per cent compared to March,” Tuaima told Khaleej Times on Monday.

Promising future

Ata Shobeiry, chief executive of Zoom Property, said 2022 looks promising for the Dubai property market and it is expected to pack in a solid number in terms of sales transactions and figures.

“The recently reformed visa policies, launch of new developments, and a strong recovery will keep attracting overseas investors. The number may not be as high as the 2014 peak, but the growth will certainly be substantial,” Shobeiry told Khaleej Times on Monday.

The residential price index, which posted a one per cent increase in capital values to 79.8 points in April compared to a base period of January 2014, noticed a high demand for luxury properties. The index, which recorded 19 transactions valued at over Dh30 million last month, highlighted a sale of a six-bedroom villa located in Dubai Hills for Dh96 million.

“Capital value growth slows to a sustainable monthly pace for villas, whilst apartments see no significant change. Dubai’s typical villa VPI reached 95.7 points; however, most typical apartments saw little or no monthly difference in price, now at 69.7 points,” according to the report.

Villas, which represent 13 per cent of the market, saw capital values grow at a slower monthly rate of 1.8 per cent in April and moved closer to hitting January 2014 peak. Average year-on-year villa prices surged 33.8 per cent in April, and the upward trend may continue this year but at a slower pace.

“We expect villas in Dubai to continue to witness high growth, particularly in areas with little or no pending new supply. Some areas will witness the price growth rate decelerate or stabilise,” Tuaima said.

Arabian Ranches (40.6 per cent), Jumeirah Islands (38.8 per cent), The Lakes (36.6 per cent), Jumeirah Village (34.9 per cent), and Palm Jumeirah (34.6 per cent) remained the most popular villa communities in April.

Some areas recorded a nominal increase in villa prices, as noticed in case of Mudon (up 0.9 per cent) and Green Community West (0.8 per cent).

Shobeiry said the villa sector would continue its glorious run during the rest of 2022.

“Both the prices and demand will rise, making them beneficial to more investors and sellers. In particular, top villa communities will continue producing strong figures for the Dubai property market,” he said.

Apartment prices also picked up in April and recorded a high single-digit growth due to rising demand in the market. The VPI noticed an 8.1 per cent average hike in apartment prices across the emirate last month, while some areas posted solid double-digit growth due to high demand from the investors and end-users.

Apartments in Jumeirah Village broke their records with the most significant number of homes sold in one month since 2010.

“Except highly desired prime locations, most apartments in Dubai will likely see single-digit price increments this year,” Tuaima said.

Palm Jumeirah (20.8 per cent), the Burj Khalifa tower (16.4 per cent), Jumeirah Beach Residence (15.6 per cent), and The Views (10.3 per cent) remained the most popular areas for apartments in April. However, Jumeirah Village and Dubai Sports City both recorded one per cent growth, and Dubai Production City (0.5 per cent) were among the areas that registered the lowest annual price growth last month.

Shobeiry said the gap between the percentage growth of apartment and villa prices would continue to narrow.

“During the first quarter of 2022, apartment prices grew nearly double digit. I believe this milestone will be achieved towards the end of the second quarter as the market sentiments look positive,” he said.

Emaar remained a favourite developer of the property buyers as the projects developed by the leading real estate company ranked high in the sales chart last month.

Emaar (24.2 per cent), Damac (15.1 per cent), Nakheel (6.3 pet cent), Select Group (3.7 per cent), and Dubai Properties (3.7 per cent) secured the top five positions on the sales chart in April.

Business Bay (12.7 per cent), Dubai Creek Harbour (8.8 per cent), and Downtown Dubai (8.8 per cent) led the off-plan locations last month while Damac Lagoons (13.4 per cent), Jumeirah Village (8.4 per cent), Dubai Marina (seven per cent) and Business Bay (4.7 per cent) were the most transacted areas for ready homes.

According to Property Finder’s proprietary demand data, the top areas of interest in terms of transactions for villas or townhouses in April 2022 were Dubai Hills Estate, Palm Jumeirah, Arabian Ranches, Damac Hills (Akoya by Damac), and The Springs.

As for apartments for the same period, the top areas of interest were Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay and Jumeirah Village Circle.

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