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Dubai’s residential deals hit record highs

Market experiences significant growth with a 36.7% increase in transaction

Dubai’s residential transactions reached new record highs in the first 11 months of this year despite a decline in off-plan sales in November on the back of a slight moderation in price surge.

In November, however, the total residential transactions in Dubai stood at 9,034, down 13.2 per cent compared to the previous year, CBRE said in its Dubai Residential Market Snapshot – December 2023.

“This slowdown in activity levels has been driven by a decline of 26.4 per cent in off-plan sales, whereas secondary market sales registered an increase of 5.1 per cent. In the year-to-date to November 2023, the total volume of transactions reached 112,356. This is the highest level on record to date,” CBRE said.

“Dubai residential market continues to extend its record-breaking total, with 112,356 transactions taking place in the year to date to November 2023. This is up by 22.5 per cent from its 2022 full-year total,” said Taimur Khan, head of research – Mena at CBRE.

In the first nine months, Dubai's real estate market experienced significant growth with a 36.7 per cent increase in transaction value and a 33.8 per cent rise in the number of transactions compared to the same period in 2022. Attributing this growth to the city's global reputation, robust infrastructure, and the commitment of its leadership to development, the Dubai Land Department reported 116,116 real estate transactions valued at Dh429.67 billion during this period. Real estate investments also saw steady growth, with 81,669 investors registering 109,186 investments totaling Dh278.7 billion, marking a 50.3 per cent increase in value, a 33.3 per cent rise in the number of investments, and a 37.4 per cent increase in the number of investors.

According to CBRE, Dubai’s residential market has started experiencing a slight moderation in price growth, where in the year to November 2023, average prices grew by 18.9 per cent, down from 19.1 per cent a month earlier. Over this period, average apartment prices increased by 18.3 per cent and average villa prices by 22.2 per cent. As at November 2023, average apartment prices reached Dh1,374 per square foot, and average villa prices reached Dh1,679 per square foot. These average apartment sales rates are still 7.7 per cent below the record highs registered in 2014, although several submarkets have long surpassed their 2014 comparable figures. The average villa sales rates are currently 16.2 per cent above the 2014 levels.

Jumeirah registered the highest sales rate per square foot in the apartment segment of the market at Dh2,497, whilst Palm Jumeirah registered the highest sales rate per square foot in the villa segment of the market at Dh5,217.

In the rental market, Dubai continued to witness a moderation in the rate of growth, where in the year to November 2023, average residential rents in Dubai grew by 19.2 per cent, down from 19.7 per cent a month earlier. Over the same period, average apartment and villa rents increased by 19.6 per cent and 16.6 per cent, respectively. The average annual apartment and villa rents reached Dh 111,622 and Dh24,835, respectively. The highest average annual apartment and villa rents were respectively seen in Palm Jumeirah, with average rents reaching Dh258,335, and in Al Barari, with average rents reaching Dh1,150,552, the report said.

“This year's total has been bolstered by large portfolio transactions and delayed registrations in the last couple of months; however, we expect the number of transactions to continue to recede in the coming months. This is expected to be largely underpinned by decreasing levels of off-plan sales, understandably so with developers looking to deliver the somewhat significant quantum of recently launched projects. In turn, we expect this slowdown in transaction volume to continue to support moderation in the rate of price and rental growth,” said Khan.