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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) likes to set records. As a state, the UAE was founded not so long ago, but they are used to surprising the world with their luxury and achievements that can be reached by spending money wisely.
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The UAE’s unsurpassed success
There’re several record-breaking structures in the UAE that the world is aware of. There are often reports that something far more grandiose is about to be built, but these plans have remained unful-filled.
The Burj Khalifa is one of these structures. This is the world’s tallest building, and has not lost its position yet. The 828 m high skyscraper has a 180-metre spire, an observation deck on the 148th floor (at an altitude of 555 m) and a restaurant on the 122nd floor (at an altitude of 442 m) that is also "the world’s tallest". The Dubai Creek Tower was supposed to take "the tallest" title away from the Burj Khalifa this year, reaching the top mark of 928 m. However, construction in 2020 was frozen due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the future of the project is unclear.
Dubai's next record holder is the world’s deepest pool − Deep Dive Dubai. A whole city has been built under a depth of many metres with no way through except through the water. The lowest point of the pool is at -60 m (from the water surface). The pool was opened in 2021and will most likely remain the world’s deepest pool for the foreseeable future.
The Palm Fountain 2020 became, and remains, the world’s largest musical fountain. Previously, this title belonged to another fountain that was also near the Burj Khalifa skyscraper.
As you can see, the UAE is competing with itself in setting records. Nevertheless, there are still opportunities to set new records, including in the real estate sector.
New records in 2022
The White Beach Dubai at the Atlantis Hotel, together with the world-famous brand Moët & Chandon, decided to celebrate 2022 with the world's highest pyramid of champagne glasses. Within 5 days, approx. 55,000 glasses were painstakingly built into the 8.23 m high pyramid (exactly 27 feet). After the celebration of the New Year, the pyramid was dismantled, and the glasses were melted down and made into branded tableware for the Atlantis Hotel.
January 1 of this year was marked by other records elsewhere in the country. E.g., The eponymous capital of the not-so-famous emirate of Ras al-Khaimah organised the highest fireworks display with drones. This bright spectacle took place at an altitude of over a kilometre, and it was remembered for ages.
The Expo 2020 exhibition in Dubai is still accompanied by various records. In 2022, it was announced that the world's largest inflatable Aqua Fun water park would open at the Jumeirah Beach Residence. The water park began to delight visitors in 2016, but recently was expanded to almost 4,000 m2, drawing the phrase l ❤ Expo 2020 Dubai130 m long and 33 m wide. After that, it entered the Guinness Book of Records. Over 70 water park attractions will be an unforgettable experience to both children and adults.
The most expensive villas in Dubai in 2022
Dubai is known as the city of millionaires, reaffirming this title in 2022. The city is the world’s 23rd richest city in population, with a fortune of $1 million to $30 million. However, in the Middle East, Du-bai has no equal in this ranking. With over 68,000 millionaires, the emirate has left Tel Aviv far behind with its 42,000 wealthy. Amongst the residents of the emirate are 13 billionaires and over 3,000 multimillionaires with a fortune of over $30 million. In the first 6 months of 2022, the number of millionaires in the emirate had already increased by 18%, which can be considered a record. Moreover, the accumulation of personal wealth has a positive effect on the well-being of the whole country − over 40% of the UAE's income was obtained through the help of these millionaires and billionaires.
According to analysts, by 2030, Dubai will enter the top 20 cities in the world for millionaires and the super-rich (HNWI).
The growing prosperity of both residents and guests of the Emirates generates new records. The sale of real estate in Dubai is one of the areas with impressive records in 2022. Overall, construction is lagging: the city's luxury real estate market grew by only 1% in Q3 of 2022, while prices soared by over 10%. Such a breakthrough guaranteed impressive records for the prices of exclusive real estate sold, and new records were set.
A villa in Dubai in the super-elite Palm Jumeirah district was sold to a new owner for AED 598 million (almost $163 million). The mansion became the most expensive property of this type sold in the emirate’s history. The saying "money goes to money" is appropriate here – the Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who had purchased a villa in this area earlier this year, became the new owner. For the first time, buying a house in Dubai cost him less – about AED 294 million ($80 million).
The second record was set by the Casa Del Sole mansion in the same area of Palm Jumeirah. The buyer paid AED 302 million (approx. $82 million) for it, the highest price for new development projects in Dubai. However, the homebuyer cannot live in the house – it will only be completed next year. The luxurious mansion has parking for 15 cars, a cinema, and a bowling alley.
Two more villas on the Palm Jumeirah rank 3rd and 4th in the ranking of the most expensive properties sold in the year. They were bought for AED 280 million and AED 145 million ($76 million and $39.5 million), respectively. The first villa has a unique private 70 m long beach, the second seems to have nothing special at all, except for the price – who in Dubai would be surprised by 6 bedrooms of 1,200 m2? Except that they offer a panoramic view of the sea from the most expensive area of the city.
Finally, the 5th participant of the competition is a mansion with the magnificent name, Grove Man-sion, in the prestigious district of Dubai Hills, sold for AED 128 million ($35 million). The 7-bedroom house of over 3,000 m2 is not inferior to the far more expensive villas in Palm Jumeirah, with a cinema, a gym with the latest equipment, and a spa centre, as well as an extensive roof terrace.
Other houses and apartments in development projects in Dubai showed less impressive figures. Nevertheless, given the current trends in the UAE real estate market, there’ll be some surprises for buyers next year.
