KHALEEJ TIMES, Thursday, Jul 16, 2020 | Zul Qaadah 24, 1441
Appeal for villas surges in Dubai as prices, rents soften in first half of 2020
Emirates:
Appeal for villas witnessed a remarkable upswing as property prices and
rents in Dubai's popular neighbourhoods remained fairly stable in the
first-half of 2020 despite the severe fallout of the pandemic lockdown,
according to data released on Wednesday.
Overall, the realty market experienced minor declines of below four per cent
when compared to prices in the second-half of 2019, showing the resilience of
the Dubai real estate market, a combined report released by Bayut and dubizzle,
reveals.
"Landlords and sellers have become more open to negotiations than ever before as
a result of the unpredictability Covid-19 has brought to the market," said the
report.
As per the Dubai Land Department's data, 15,897 sales transactions were recorded
in Dubai between January to June 2020, amounting to a total value of Dh32.5
billion.
Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Bayut and dubizzle, said Dubai's property sector has
adapted and stayed resilient during the pandemic, with the brokerage community
turning to innovative virtual tools to facilitate real estate activity and stay
connected with prospective buyers and tenants.
"The combined traffic to Bayut and Dubizzle during the months of May and June
were as high as 6.9 million and 7.3 million sessions respectively, reflecting
the growing interest in the real estate sector post the lockdown and trust for
the advanced virtual property solutions provided by our platforms," said Khan.
"The concept of a home has also perhaps evolved in the face of the pandemic. We
have seen that there is sustained interest in the market, especially for
established villa communities. Right from the initial phase of the restrictions
in March 2020, we noticed over 42 per cent increase in traffic for villas listed
for sale on Bayut, which further increased by more than 25 per cent in April,"
said Khan.
He said it is easy to understand the appeal of such private homes in light of
the heightened need for living arrangements with safe accessible outdoor spaces,
irrespective of any lockdown. "Overall traffic has also almost doubled since
March 2020 with more and more people re-evaluating their housing choices."
Arabian Ranches has claimed the top spot among buyers and investors interested
in ready villas in Dubai in the first-half 2020, followed by Palm
Jumeirah and The Villa.
"You will be surprised that even during this period of lockdown when we are all
confined in our homes, people were actually buying homes, thanks to the
brokerage community innovative virtual tools to facilitate real estate activity.
I personally feel that there could be a strong revival of investors coming back
into the real estate sector," said Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube
Group.
Haleema Al Owais, CEO of Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Real Estate, said Dubai real
estate has been rather volatile since much before the pandemic. "The latter part
of the year will be a time of consolidation for the industry and will see the
prices stabilise at certain levels across all areas in the emirate, similar to
other metropolises like London and Lisbon," she said.
The average price-per-square-foot in Arabian Ranches has seen a minor increase
of 1.6 per cent in the first half, rising from Dh882 to Dh896. The sales
price-per-square-foot for villas in the next most sought after area, Palm
Jumeirah has remained largely unchanged, averaging at Dh2,027. Similarly, price
per square foot in The Villa has also remained competitive for buyers and
investors, reducing marginally from Dh669 to Dh648 in the first-half.
In the case of ready apartments, Dubai Marina has continued to dominate the
interest of buyers and renters.
Mirdif has remained the most popular neighbourhood for rental villas in Dubai in
the first half of 2020. The average rental cost for three-bedroom villas in
Mirdif went down marginally by four per cent from to Dh95,000 in 2020
first-half.
The rent for four and 5-bedroom villas have remained stable, averaging at
Dh115,000 and Dh123,500 respectively. Established communities such as Jumeirah,
The Springs and Arabian Ranches have seen rental costs remain largely unchanged
in the first half of 2020, said the report.
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