Dubai: Demand for larger homes growing as families move to city, choose ownership

The emirate’s population has grown by 115,327 this year, hitting 3.77 million so far

Waheed Abbas

Published: Thu 5 Sep 2024, 12:53 PM

Last updated: Thu 5 Sep 2024, 8:25 PM

Demand to buy bigger apartments and larger villas/townhouses is growing as more young families are switching to ownership and relocating to Dubai, data showed on Thursday.

Most buyers were looking for two-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom or larger villas in August, according to the latest data released by Property Finder.

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Demand is mostly driven by residents switching to ownership to beat rising rents and foreign investors and businessmen relocating to Dubai with their families.

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Around 6 out of 10 – 59 per cent – of property buyers in Dubai were looking for an apartment last month, while 41 per cent were scouting for villas/townhouses.

Around 36 per cent of investors searched for two-bedroom apartments, 32 per cent for one-bedroom and 14 per cent for studios. For villas/townhouses, 39 per cent searched for three-bedroom units and 47 per cent for four-bedroom or larger options.

This shows that there is more demand for larger units as more families are moving or plan to move to the emirate and settle here on a long-term basis.

“August was a particularly exciting month, with several project developments feeding into sustained growth in Dubai’s thriving real estate sector. The industry continues to see a breadth of demand – with younger families looking for community-centric living options, driving affordable housing interest; while luxury demand is also on the rise, with the influx of ultra-high-net-worth individuals expected in the coming years,” said Cherif Sleiman, chief revenue officer at Property Finder.

Popular areas

Demand for property ownership – especially in the off-plan segment – has been growing exponentially in the past three and a half years as a large number of businessmen and high-net-worth individuals relocated to Dubai. The emirate’s population has grown by 115,327 this year to 3.77 million so far this year. Since January 2021, the population has grown by 359,311.

Most of the property buyers in Dubai wanted to own an apartment in Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), Dubai Marina, Downtown, Business Bay, and Palm Jumeirah. Dubai Hills Estate, Al Furjan, Palm Jumeirah, Damac Hills 2 and Dubai South were the most desired areas to own villas and townhouses.

Rentals

The rising population is also boosting demand for rental properties across the emirate.

Nearly 8 out of 10 – 79 per cent – of tenants were seeking an apartment and the remaining were considering villas and townhouses.

The majority – 63 per cent – were looking for furnished properties, while 36 per cent sought unfurnished options. In the villa and townhouse category, the majority – 57 per cent – searched for unfurnished properties.

For rentals, demand is higher for one-bedroom units, followed by two-bedroom apartments and studios. The top areas searched to rent apartments included Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay and Jumeirah Lakes Tower. Dubai Hills Estate, Jumeirah, Damac Hills 2, Al Barsha and Umm Suqeim were popular among those looking to rent villas/townhouses.

In August, transaction values remained at par with the highest peak recorded in May this year. Around 16,163 transactions were recorded, a 37 per cent increase compared to the same month last year. The value of these transactions increased by 38 per cent to Dh47.2 billion.

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