Dubai’s secondary property market explodes in Q1 – News
Investors from the UK, Italy and France have claimed prime spots in the Dubai property top 10
Indian and Pakistani investors also made significant investments in Dubai property during the quarter, which also saw a surge in the number of Canadian investors and buyers. — File photo
Property investors from the UK, Italy and France claimed top spots in the list of top 10 foreign investors in Dubai as the emirate’s property sector witnessed secondary market dominance in the first quarter .
The emirate’s resurgent property market recorded its best quarter since 2010, with a total of 20,539 sales transactions valued at 55.5 billion dirhams.
Indian and Pakistani investors also made significant investments in Dubai property during the quarter, which also saw a surge in the number of Canadian investors and buyers. Investors from Russia, Lebanon and China were among the other three nationalities on the top ten list.
The secondary market shines
Citing official data, Zoom Property Insights said the secondary market dominated the real estate sector as it constituted around 58% of total sales transactions, while the remaining 42% of sales were recorded in the primary market.
In April, the Dubai property market saw its second month of April in terms of transactions, according to the latest data. In total, 60% of transactions took place on the secondary market and 40% on the VEFA market. This represents a 46% increase in volume and 67% in value year-on-year, and comes after a record March.
Continuing upward trend
April saw a total of 7,009 sales transactions worth Dh18.3 billion, according to data available on the Dubai Land Department’s open data platform. It is also the second highest April on record for sales volume and value, with April 2009 being the highest. Among the main areas of sales transactions in April for villas and townhouses were Arabian Ranches-3 for the VEFA and Dubai Hills Estate for the secondary market.
The market is expected to continue its upward trajectory with more foreign investors flocking to the market, due to visa reforms and economic stability. Dubai’s changing labor law scenario and plentiful entrepreneurial opportunities are also attracting a large number of investors, according to Zoom Property Insights.
Ata Shobeiry, CEO of Zoom Property, credits foreign investors for the outstanding performance of the property market in recent months.
“The growing demand, real estate prices and return on investment can largely be attributed to the influx of foreign investors. Expo 2020 made it easy for many new investors to visit, who ultimately decided the market was worth worth investing in. I believe that the recent announcement of the new green residence visa and the expansion of the eligibility criteria for the golden visa will provide more opportunities for foreign investors, which in an even better performance during of subsequent quarters,” Shobeiry said.
European investors dominate
The market remained dominated by European investors during the first quarter, with the UK, Italy and France occupying the first, third and seventh spots on the list of top nationalities investing in Dubai. Canadian buyers increased by 116% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021. Investors belonging to the subcontinent, India and Pakistan, ranked second and eighth respectively, also contributed to the remarkable performance of the real estate market, according to Zoom Property Knowledge.
The number of Russian investors in Dubai’s property market has increased by more than 65%, with the country taking fifth place among the top investing countries. Lebanon and China are the two other countries that have made significant investments in the Dubai property market during the first quarter of 2022.
According to Zoom Property Insights, foreign investors belonging to other regions are also expected to enter the market as it continues to show its high performance. Experts believe that 2022 will end on a stronger note due to rising prices and demand.