Sharjah records real estate transactions worth Dh24.2bn in 2019

The emirate registered 61,357 transactions last year, up by 13.4 per cent compared to 2018

Sharjah is thriving culturally. Pawan Singh / The National

Real estate transactions in Sharjah jumped by 7.3 per cent year-on-year to Dh24.2 billion in 2019, according to the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department.

The emirate registered 61,357 transactions last year, up 13.4 per cent on 2018.

Residential properties made up the majority of the sales transactions in 2019, some 69.4 per cent of the total, according to the organisation. Commercial transactions made up 15.9 per cent, industrial sales 11.8 per cent and agricultural deals 2.9 per cent.

Most of the sales within the city were recorded in the Muwaileh Commercial, Al Khan, Al Nahda and Hoshi areas.

“The highest number of the Sharjah city real estate sales transactions recorded last year was in Muwaileh Commercial Area where 567 dealings, worth Dh1.2bn, were recorded," said Abdulaziz Ahmed Al Shamsi, Director General, SRERD.

Sharjah witnessed a softening in sales prices and rents as residences in neighbouring Dubai became more affordable, a report from consultant Cavendish Maxwell showed.

“Tenants continued their flight to quality, upgrading to better areas and bigger homes and even relocating altogether from nearby emirates like Ajman. In turn, existing tenants were seen taking advantage of the lower rents in Dubai,” the report said.  Average rents for a prime, two-bed apartment in the emirate stood at about Dh50,000 per year, while rents for a prime, five-bed villa ranged from Dh110,000-120,00 per year.

Sharjah’s affordability, particularly, buoyed the number of sales transactions last year. Cavendish Maxwell noted that sales transactions grew 31 per cent in the first nine months of the year. Meanwhile the UAE’s third largest economy continues to be appealing to developers who are targeting a niche market.

Arada, a company that is developing the emirate’s $6.5bn (Dh 23.8bn) Aljada project, reported that sales picked up 33 per cent within its projects in Sharjah.