Dubai's new House Price Index, Mo'asher, was rolled out with the first data point showing a 1.4 per cent rise in November.
The index has been created by using Dubai Land Department data in partnership with real estate listings portal Property Finder, and will provide consumers with updated property sales price insights in the emirate on a monthly basis. Property Finder also plans to release area-specific data in sub-indexes in the coming months.
"The creation of Mo'asher, or the Dubai House Price Index, is a consolidation of our promise to provide consumers with superior insights to support them in taking property-buying decisions," said Sultan bin Mejren, director general of DLD.
The price index rose to 1.134 points in November, up from 1.121 points in October. The average house price rose to Dh1.17 million, compared to Dh1.16m in October.
“Following the formation of the Higher Real Estate Planning Committee, there was a boost in market confidence, and the real estate market witnessed a remarkable improvement in both volume and value of investments [in November],” Property Finder said.
“In October alone, there was a 23 per cent increase in the volume of transactions and a 33 per cent increase in the value of investments,” it said.
Records for the number of real estate transactions hit an 11-year high in October, and were broken again in November. The number of transactions completed last month reached 5,037, up from 4,774 in October and 4,007 in September. In the 12-month period ending this November, transactions hit a record of 44,950, Property Finder said earlier this month.
In September, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the formation of the Higher Real Estate Planning Committee, which will be chaired by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
The committee's purpose is to ensure that semi-government real estate companies work closely with private investors to develop a comprehensive strategic plan and vision for all major projects in the emirate for the next 10 years, with a view to maintaining a healthy balance between supply and demand.
The house price index increase was "driven by a set of initiatives that motivated real estate investments", said Property Finder's research and data director Lynette Abad.
Recent measures supporting house prices include the introduction of long term visas for investors, as well as the removal of the 3 per cent early settlement fee for mortgages by the Central Bank of the UAE.
“The collaboration with Property Finder in launching this index will attract new investors to the real estate market,” said Majida Ali Rashid, chief executive of the Promotion and Real Estate Investment Management sector at DLD.
“We will work hard to provide important statistics about our real estate market, especially as data plays an important role in enhancing the transparency of the sector and gaining investor confidence.”
