A new study has revealed that volume growth in prime real estate category outstripped overall sales growth in the city by nearly 130 percent in Dubai.
According to Dubai Land Department, the overall volume of property transactions in the second quarter of 2022 grew by nearly 10 percent compared to Q1. Sale of 13,857 apartments, 1,836 villas and 4,166 town houses amounted to a total value of AED47 billion.
However, a LuxHabitat Sotheby’s study showed that sales volume in prime real estate surged by 23 percent with 6,893 properties transacted for a total value of AED21.5 billion.
The Dubai prime residential market areas used for the analysis included Al Barari, Arabian Ranches, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Business Bay, Emirates Living, Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Mohammed bin Rashid City, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Jumeirah Bay and Palm Jumeirah.
Upward trend to continue
With property a safe hedge against high inflation, George Azar, CEO at LuxHabitat Sotheby’s International Realty, said he expected demand to continue along similar line into the third quarter.
Azar added: “Showing signs of positive and sustained growth, Dubai’s real estate sector continues to attract high net worth investors from across the globe.
“While many markets worldwide are facing geopolitical and economic uncertainty, Dubai continues to be a beacon of resilience. In recent months we are seeing investors from UK, India and Germany driving demand, with many of our buyers looking for ready properties and branded addresses.
Palm Jumeirah and Downtown drive demand
Among other significant findings of the study is the demand for apartments grew by 40% over the previous quarter and was far greater than that of villas. Palm Jumeirah (AED4.89 billion) and Downtown (AED4.88 billion) were the top two neighbourhoods in terms of sales volume in the prime segment and accounted for almost 21 percent of total sales in Dubai.
The sales of villas dropped considerably overall. Only 1,836 sales were recorded in Q2, compared to 2,560 in the previous quarter, amounting to a change of -28.3 percent. However, apartment sales remained robust, increasing by 17.1 percent to 13,857. Townhouse sales saw a 6.6 percent growth in Q2 to 4,166.
Areas that showed a significant increase in volume between Q1 and Q2 include Dubai Marina, where sales volume almost doubled from AED888 million to AED1.75 billion; Downtown Dubai, where it increased from AED2.6 billion to AED4.8 billion, and Jumeirah Islands, where volume exactly doubled to AED402 million from AED201 million.
In the prime real estate market for apartments, the top three areas in terms of sales volume were Downtown Dubai (AED4.8 billion), Palm Jumeirah (AED3.7 billion), and Business Bay (AED2.2 billion).
Jumeirah Islands (up 99.9 percent) and Jumeirah Golf Estates (up 76 percent) were the two neighbourhoods that bucked the trend of negative villa sales.
Though demand was down, average villa prices were up from AED9.6 million to AED11.8 million for prime villas, with the price per average sqft increasing from AED1,857 to AED2,069.
LuxHabitat Sotheby’s sold the most expensive property in Q2 – a a 34,113 sqft Dubai Hills Grove mansion – valued at AED128 million. There was also a sale of a 15,905 sqft Palm Jumeirah villa for AED126.25 million.
Follow us on
