Dubai property sales transactions hit eight-year high of $4bn in June

The emirate has registered 27,373 transactions worth Dh61.97bn this year, according to new report

The Dubai skyline. The emirate recorded 6,388 property sales transactions in June. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai’s property sales transactions hit an eight-year high of Dh14.79 billion ($4.03bn) in June as segments of the market across the UAE benefitted from new demand and the continued economic rebound, according to listings portal Property Finder.

This is the highest value of monthly property transactions recorded by the emirate since December 2013, the portal said on Tuesday.

“The trends this year have certainly kept us on our toes, with month-on-month increases and record-breaking months for sales transactions, high investment demand from residents and foreign investment and property prices increasing across prime, popular communities,” said Lynnette Sacchetto, research and data director at Property Finder.

The UAE property market, which softened due to a three-year oil price slump that began in 2014 and oversupply concerns, is showing signs of recovery as people upgrade to larger homes with outdoor amenities amid a remote working and learning trend sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Economic support measures and government initiatives – such as residency permits for retirees and remote workers and the expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme – have also helped to improve sentiment.

The emirate recorded 6,388 sales transactions during the month, with volume and value up 173.46 per cent and 204.55 per cent, respectively, compared with the same period a year ago.

More than 62 per cent of transactions in June were for secondary or ready property while off-plan property accounted for 37.8 per cent of transactions.

The off-plan market had 2,418 property transactions worth Dh3.5bn while the secondary market recorded 3,970 transactions worth Dh11.29bn.

“If we take a deeper dive into the data and compare real estate sales transactions in both June 2021 and the second quarter of 2021 with similar periods in 2020 and 2019, we see that the market has had significant growth and Covid was a growth accelerator for the industry,” said Property Finder.

Dubai recorded 15,638 property transactions worth Dh36.86bn during the second quarter, according to the data.

The number of transactions from the start of this year through to June 30 stood at 27,373, with a total value of Dh61.97bn.

The top areas for apartment sales during the month were Meydan, Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Dubai Marina.

For villas, Green Community, Mohammed Bin Rashid City and Dubai Hills Estate were the most popular with buyers.

“Following on from the rest of the year’s trends, second-quarter outperformed previous quarters and we will most likely see this trend continue until the end of year and into 2022,” said Ms Sacchetto.