Highlights include:
- Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and Emirates Hills have seen robust sales
- Buyers are also keen on picking up units in new projects like Dubai Hills Estate, MBR City
- Dip in prices makes once-overpriced properties affordable now
Dubai: The higher end of Dubai’s real estate market is rather resilient. The luxury property sales market in Dubai has seen an uptick in the volume of transactions from January to June 2019, compared to the same period last year, according to Data Finder, a real estate insights and data platform under the Property Finder Group.
Any property transaction exceeding AED 10 million in value has been considered for this analysis. The Dubai luxury housing market registered 194 transactions in H1 2019 as compared to 115 such transactions in H1 2018.
There has been a return in demand for established communities such as the Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and Emirates Hills. These areas, once considered overpriced, are now attractive as prices have declined. But there is also plenty of activity happening in the luxury space in new projects such as Dubai Hills Estate and Mohammed Bin Rashid City.
There was an off-plan transaction registered for a penthouse in Omniyat’s One Palm project that sold for AED 74 million in May. This is the most expensive property transaction in Dubai so far in 2019.
In terms of volume, Palm Jumeirah accounted for the most luxury home sales (55) in H1 2019, almost double the deals in H1 2018, followed by Dubai Hills Estate (29), Downtown Dubai (28), MBR City (22), Emirates Hills (17) and Jumeirah Golf Estates (12).
Dubai’s luxury homes are still very affordable compared with their counterparts in leading global cities such as London, New York, Paris and Singapore. This could be the reason for the revival of buyer interest in Dubai’s prime housing market.
Across the 10 cities surveyed for Knight Frank’s Wealth Report, Dubai prime properties are most affordable amongst those analysed, with an average price of $625 per sq ft, just 15 percent of the average price in Hong Kong. This means that buyers are able to acquire prime projects in Dubai at values that are relatively lower, compared to other key global cities.
In a breakdown based on the unit specification, 65 luxury apartments were sold in H1 2019, 78 ready prime villas/townhouses and 51 off-plan luxury villas.
“Prices in the luxury market were inflated over the past few years, therefore as prices declined, particularly over the last year, luxury properties have become very attractive, especially to foreign investors,” said Lynnette Abad, Director of Data & Research, Property Finder.
On the Palm Jumeirah, there was renewed buyer interest for apartments on the Crescent (16 deals) and villas on the Frond (24 deals). In Downtown Dubai, apartments in the Opera District soaked up majority of buyer interest, while multiple standalone apartment projects also registered healthy sales. Emaar’s Il Primo tower in Opera District has seen robust sales in the luxury segment.
Meanwhile in MBR City, the villas and mansions in District One clocked healthy sales (16) on the secondary market while Sobha Hartland accounted for a few off-plan villa sales.
In Jumeirah Golf Estates, Sienna Lakes villas registered healthy interest in the secondary luxury sales market. In other prime home transactions, there was good buyer interest for Al Barari villas, Bulgari Resort & Residences, apartments in Volante Tower in Business Bay, Dubai Creek Harbour and Le Reve in Dubai Marina.
About Property Finder – www.propertyfinder.ae
Property Finder is the leading property portal in the MENA region and Turkey that facilitates the house-hunting journey for both buyers and renters.
Founded in 2007, the website has evolved over the years as the go-to platform for developers, real estate brokerages, and house hunters to make informed decisions on all things real estate.
A UAE-born start-up, Property Finder has branched out of the country’s shores and operates in a total of seven markets, including Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, and Morocco, and has a significant stake in the second-largest property portal in Turkey, which has over 6 million monthly visitors and more than 18,000 real estate agents.
US private equity firm General Atlantic led Property Finder’s latest round of investment of a total of $120 million in 2018. This is being used to hire further exceptional talent and investing in its technology and product capabilities.
The property portal employs over 450 employees globally, of which 204 people work out of its Dubai office, and generates over six million monthly visits as a Group.
In April 2019, Property Finder announced the acquisition of JRD Group, following an increased investment in Turkish portal Zingat.
In 2014, Property Finder acquired eSimsar.com, the top property portal in Saudi Arabia, while in 2013, the Group bought out realestate.com.lb, the number 1 property portal in Lebanon, and lastly, the acquisition of Selektimmo, a Moroccan portal, to pad out sarouty.ma, Property Finder’s Moroccan offering, in 2016.
For media enquiries, please contact Anna Lucas Southgate
anna@propertyfinder.ae
+971 55 115 9971
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