Property handovers in Dubai will reach their 10-year high in 2021

Total deliveries for the year will total 37,000 units, CORE says.

Dubai’s residential property handovers in 2021 will reach their highest level in a decade against a backdrop of the market's continued recovery from the slowdown induced by the coronavirus pandemic last year.

About apartments and villas have been handed over to owners this year and additional 13,000 units are scheduled for hand-over in the fourth quarter. So deliveries for the year will total 37,000 units, the highest since 2011.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, last year developers had to hold off new project launches, while contractors and construction firms scaled back activities, slowing down new supply deliveries. This year, after the ease of the COVID-19 restrictions new projects have been announced and construction sites resumed work.

The units delivered this year have been in the pipeline for the last three to five years. And in addition to that, this year developers have been focusing on existing project deliveries instead of building new units.

Apartments still constitute a significant portion of the new residential stock in Dubai, accounting for 86 percent of the total deliveries this year.

The majority of apartments handed over this year are situated in Business Bay, DAMAC Hills, Jumeirah Village Circle and Dubai Marina. As for villas, new units were delivered in multiple projects in Dubailand and Dubai Hills Estate.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic Dubai’s property market had already been subdued due to housing oversupply. However, sales transactions have been increasing after the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, as many property buyers took advantage of falling prices and attractive mortgage rates.

Though handover volumes will reach their peak this year, according to CORE, it's lower launch volumes and robust transaction activity that will keep underpinning the market.

Among the developers that have resumed off-plan launches this year is Union Properties, which have announced two new projects recently: Motor City Hills with 415 townhouse villas and Motor City Views, featuring 880 apartments.

Also this year, DAMAC Properties shared plans to develop Cavalli Tower, a 70-storey skyscraper with 485 units. Another UAE-based company, Samana Developers, launched a residential wellness project in Dubai Studio City, the project will feature 233 apartments.