Dubai records property deals worth $4.07bn in August

The emirate registered 5,780 sales last month, making it the best August since 2009

Dubai recorded 37,537 sales transactions worth Dh88.12bn in the eight months of this year, up 22.61 per cent compared to the whole year of 2020. Pawan Singh/The National

Property sales transactions in Dubai continued to rise in August, driven by demand in the secondary market as the UAE economy recovered steadily from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The emirate last month registered 5,780 sales deals worth Dh14.97 billion ($4.07bn), making it the best August in total sales since 2009, according to the listings portal Property Finder.

Villas and town houses in Arabian Ranches 3, Dubai Land, Dubai South, Tilal al Ghaf and Damac Hills 2 clocked the highest number of transactions.

The most popular areas of interest for apartments included Business Bay, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Harbour, Mohammed bin Rashid City and Downtown Dubai.

“Consumer and investor sentiments are up, which shows the confidence of people, including foreign direct investment into Dubai. With Expo 2020 right around the corner, I expect it to continue to increase,” Lynnette Sacchetto, director of research and data at Property Finder, said.

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 Covid-19.

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.

Dubai recorded 37,537 sales transactions worth Dh88.12bn in the eight months of this year, up 22.61 per cent compared to the whole year of 2020. Dubai saw 35,401 sales transactions worth Dh71.87bn last year.

Last month, 55 per cent of all property transactions in the emirate were for secondary property, while off-plan property accounted for 45 per cent of the deals, according to the data.

In terms of the volume of deals, 2,599 off-plan units valued at Dh4.95bn and 3,181 secondary or ready units worth Dh10.02bn were sold.

“The off-plan market is back again, thriving, with projects selling out in hours which shows that investors have confidence in the future of Dubai,” Ms Sacchetto said.

The overall average sales transaction value in August increased 1.57 per cent to Dh2.58 million compared to the previous month.

The UAE’s economy is expected to grow by more than 4 per cent this year as the country continues to roll out initiatives to help it recover from the coronavirus pandemic-induced slowdown, Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq said this week.

The latest forecast is higher than the Central Bank’s assessment in December, which put expectations for growth at 2.5 per cent in 2021.