Dubai-based real estate broker Betterhomes has seen a surge of British buyers in the first six months of 2021 as the UAE continues to offer incentives to attract the best expat talent to the country.
Data compiled by the broker showed that the number of UK buyers increased by 600 percent in the first half of this year compared to the year-earlier period.
UK property investors jumped from 10th place in H1 2020 to second place in the company’s ranking of buyers by nationality.
Betterhomes said most of the UK buyers are UAE residents while there was also a number of visitors that utilised remote working visas to stay in Dubai.
The broker said the surge from the UK has been driven by factors including Dubai’s Covid-19 response and its business-friendly approach which has created “optimistic business sentiment and investors have returned in large numbers, looking to take advantage of both improving capital growth prospects and attractive rental yields, which remain higher than most established markets”.
The UAE government’s approach to attracting the best and brightest expats with remote visas, golden visas and business reforms also had a positive impact, it noted, adding that low interest rates and improving job sentiment have also contributed to the increase in demand.
Betterhomes said the top five nationalities investing in Dubai’s property market in H1 were Indians, Brits, Italians, Chinese and French.
Its H1 2021 Dubai Real Estate Market Report echoed earlier reports of a continued rebound, with villa prices leading the way.
Richard Waind, group managing director, Betterhomes, said: “In the first half of 2021, the Dubai property market saw transaction levels at their highest for over a decade.
“Domestically, low interest rates and improving job sentiment, coupled with a focus on the ‘home’ brought on by the pandemic, have led to a surge in demand from residents. Internationally, Dubai’s Covid-19 response and business-friendly approach have won many admirers.”
He added: “With the US Fed reserve indicating that interest rates will remain at their current low levels well into 2022 and the supply of new units peaking and expected to drop from next year, it is hard not to see prices continuing on an upward trajectory for the next couple of years.
“However, with rental prices lagging sales prices in many places, we see investor margins are being squeezed, especially in periphery communities with lots of new apartment supply, so I expect we will continue to see some winners and some losers in terms of prices across the market.”
The Betterhomes report said prices increased almost 40 percent in some communities such as the Jumeirah Islands in H1, while at the same time reduced in others by over 25 percent, like in Al Habtoor City and Dubai South.
Average property prices per sqft increased by 24 percent for villas/townhouses and 3 percent for apartments in H1, citing Dubai Land Department data.
Established in 1986, Betterhomes is one of the oldest and largest real estate companies in Dubai with 200+ specialists spread across four branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Follow us on
