Dubai’s residential property market is showing signs of plateauing after about 18 months of price decline.
New figures from the consultancy ValuStrat show that there was “no significant change” in values of apartments and villas in the 26 areas that it monitored in December. It said that its ValuStrat Price Index remained constant at 97.9 – the first time that no monthly change has been recorded since the current market correction began in mid-2014. The Index compares prices from a 100-point base that was set in January 2014.
The ValuStrat research manager Haider Tuaima said that the pace of decline in its house price index had started to slow early in 2015, and for the past few months the change in values registered had been negligible, indicating “a plateau in prices”.
“Some might suggest that this is a bottoming out of the market and the only next step is for values to go up,” he said. “We’re not saying that at the moment, but it seems the signs are indicating that we’ve reached a predictable stage of the market. If all other economic factors are the same, we are assuming it will stay this way for the next three to six months.”
Ahmet Kayhan, chief executive of the real estate data specialist ReidIn, said that its figures also showed that price declines were coming to an end. Its latest data shows a 2 per cent fall in prices during the three months to December, but Mr Kayhan told The National that apartment prices started to turn in October 2015, registering their first increase in 13 months. Villa prices continued to fall for another couple of months, but they also plateaued in December.
“The main reason around that is the rental yield,” said Mr Kayhan. “Yields have come to a level which is making the market really, really attractive [for investors].
“When you look at the yield numbers right now, you’re looking at 7.5 to 8 per cent for the general apartment market. And you’ve got 9 to 10 per cent for smaller units and more affordable property in places like Discovery Gardens, International City and B-type units in JLT.”
Meanwhile, Dubai Land Department (DLD) said that the value of real estate transactions registered in the city increased by 8 per cent in 2015 to Dh267 billion.
The total number of transactions – including sales, mortgages and transfers – also increased by 18 per cent to 63,719 (2014: 53,871).
Sales of land and buildings made up 49 per cent of the total, with more than 48,000 transactions adding up to Dh130bn of deals. That means the number of deals done increased by 26 per cent when compared with last year’s published figures, while the value of deals increased by 16 per cent.
The DLD director general Sultan Butti bin Mejren said that the figures prove Dubai’s real estate market “is able to continue to attract investors from around the world, which means that it is likely to maintain sustainable growth for years to come”.
mfahy@thenational.ae
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The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
