Dubai may see another 50,000 units in 2010 - paper

Dubai is likely to see 50,000 residential units added to the real estate market in 2010, according to an industry analyst.

Of these total units mentioned above, only half will be made available for rent, Charles Neil, the recently appointed CEO of Landmark Properties told the Emirates Business daily in an interview on Thursday.

"In 2008 and 2009 the delivery has been pretty steady at about 30,000 units a year. In 2010, it looks as though it will jump to 50,000 units, of which villas will be 20 per cent," Neil said.

Fewer villas will start coming on to the market after 2011 and Landmark could see shortages after 2012, he added.

Speaking to the newspaper, Neil said: “If you're looking at villa prices, they actually went up a bit during the third quarter because there was no finance available. Now that finance has eased, prices and rents in places such as The Palms, Springs and Meadows went up between eight and five per cent, respectively.”

Commenting on the future, Neil told the paper: “The big issue for next year is what's happening with supply. In 2008 and 2009 the delivery of supply has been pretty steady at about 30,000 units a year. In 2010, it looks as though it will jump to 50,000 units, of which villas will be 20 per cent. And then in 2011, the number of villas drops to five per cent and in 2012 to three per cent, so there's very little villas coming on. You can see a shortage in the villa market.”

“With apartments there will be a big surplus next year. The question is how much of that will translate into inventory. Today, the housing stock is about 330,000 units, which will go up to 380,000 in 2010. You need probably a population of 150,000 to fill that. Now where is that going to come from? The answer is there could probably be a two to three per cent growth in Dubai's economy next year.”