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Dubai’s realty off to a flying start with record Dh35.4b sales

Off-plan showed more demand, with a year-on-year increase of approximately 25%

Dubai’s real estate market witnessed a remarkable boom in January 2024, with record-breaking sales totalling Dh35.4 billion, signifying a positive outlook for the sector in 2024 on the back of a sustained momentum from the previous year and a growing demand for off-plan properties.

January 2024 broke records with a substantial increase of 27 per cent compared to Dh27.9 billion in January 2023, showcasing a consistent upward trend in recent years.

Property Finder’s data indicates a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in recorded sales transactions with over 11,000 transactions compared to 8,712 in January 2023.

Cherif Sleiman, chief revenue officer at Property Finder, said January built on the great momentum from last year, revealing positive scope for sustained successes in 2024. “It’s interesting to see off-plan gain further traction, promising demand for new projects. As a leading proptech portal, we continue to keep our eyes on evolving consumer choices, with an aim to empower our partners and property seekers to make more informed decisions within this thriving real estate landscape.”

Off-plan showed more demand, with a year-on-year increase of approximately 25 per cent in volume and 6,000 recorded transactions. Values experienced a surge of around 21 per cent year-on-year, reaching roughly Dh15 billion, compared to Dh12.2 billion in January 2023.

According to a Zazen Properties report, Dubai’s resilient off-plan real estate sector propelled the overall UAE market to hit Dh455.7 billion in sales in 2023. With demand expected to outstrip supply going forward, the off-plan sector looks set to bolster the overall market’s growth in 2024 and beyond. Despite the completion of over 60,000 units, demand continues to exceed supply with Dubai’s population rapidly growing to rank among the fastest globally.

In 2023, Dubai was a notable bright spot, benefiting from a flourishing tourism sector that increased home demand and witnessed a sales value of Dh160.46 billion, a 72.3 per cent growth compared to the Dh93 billion sales values seen in 2022.

Property Finder’s data shows that about 58 per cent of interested property buyers were searching for an apartment, while 42 per cent sought villas/townhouses. In contrast, 80 per cent of tenants in the rental market were found to be looking for apartments, while 20 per cent were searching for villas/townhouses.

The portal’s research revealed that roughly 62.2 per cent of tenants seeking apartments were found to choose furnished properties, while 36.1 per cent were searching for unfurnished options. “In contrast, tenants who are able to afford villa/townhouse rentals revealed the opposite, with about 57 per cent seeking unfurnished units and 42 per cent looking for furnished options,” Property Finder said in its report.

Approximately 36 per cent of tenants searched for one bedroom units, 31 per cent for two-bedroom apartments and 22 per cent for studios. For villas/townhouses, 43 per cent tenants were looking for three-bedroom units, 34 per cent looked for four bedroom or larger options. As for ownership, 33 per cent were seeking one-bedroom units, 36 per cent searched for two-bedroom apartments and 14 per cent for studios. Regarding Villas/Townhouses, 40 per cent were primarily looking for three-bedroom units, while 44 per cent were searching for four-bedroom or larger options.

Top areas searched to own apartments were Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, and Palm Jumeirah. Dubai Hills Estate, Arabian Ranches, Palm Jumeirah, Al Furjan and Damac Hills were the most desired areas to own villas/townhouses. Leading areas for rentals were Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay and Deira. Dubai Hills Estate, Al Barsha, Damac Hills 2, Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim were popular when it came to searches to rent villas/townhouses.

The data shows that existing property transactions revealed a year-on-year increase of approximately 8.0 per cent in volume, with over 5,000 transactions. The value of these transactions surged by 31 per cent year-on-year, touching Dh21 billion, compared to Dh15.7 billion in January 2023.