Revival of Dubai's real estate market: properties are selling within hours

Due to ready-to-occupy flats and villas active sales, Dubai’s property transactions reached their highest level in six years, latest data suggested.

According to Data Finder, the real estate insights and data platform under the Property Finder Group, in March 2021 the market witnessed 4,643 sales transactions worth USD 2.9 billion, which is highest in a single month since June 2015.

Ready units accounted for 63 percent of the total transactions number, or 2,930 properties, worth USD 2.1 billion. Off-plan sales accounted for 1,713 properties, valued at USD 792 million in total.

'People, end users and investors alike, are once again heavily investing in the future of Dubai,' said Lynnette Abad Sacchetto, director of research and data at Property Finder.

Demand for properties, mostly completed units, in Dubai has been strong since COVID-19 restrictions were eased in the middle of 2020. Much of the demand is driven by lower prices and attractive interest rates.

According to Lewis Allsopp, CEO of Allsopp & Allsopp, Dubai's continued growth despite the pandemic, coupled with the series of visa-related initiatives and massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign, has boost investor confidence.

'This has encouraged many expats already residing in the city to buy homes here and invest in their future and also encouraged many overseas investors,' Allsopp said.

Demand for off-plan units, according to Sacchetto, has also been rising. The number of transactions increased by 30 percent in the past two months.

Developers launch new phases within their existing projects, especially in the villa/townhouse segment that are being sold out within hours.

Overall, the first three months of 2021 had 11,757 transactions worth USD 6.8 billion, which is six percent up compared to the previous quarter.

Secondary properties also recorded a 16 percent increase quarter-on-quarter, while off-plan units still posted a seven percent decline.

Data Finder also reported a huge interest in villas and townhouses in Mohammed bin Rashid City, which accounted for 11.5 percent of all sales in March 2021.

Secondary home buyers also preferred Tilal Al Ghaf, Dubai Hills Estate and Nad Al Sheba, which accounted for 10.1 percent, 9.9 percent and 8.2 percent of the deals, respectively.

As for apartments purchases, the most popular location is Business Bay, accounting for 10.7 percent of the total deals, followed by Dubai Marina (9.3 percent), Jumeirah Village Circle (8 percent), Jumeirah Lakes Towers (7.6 percent) and Palm Jumeirah (7.2 percent).