Khaleej Times, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 | Shawwal 17, 1443
Dubai home sales surged 55.9% in April
Emirates: Dubai’s real estate continued to
attract investors and end-users as home sales surged on rising demand in April
despite a steady rise in prices, the latest data shows.
Home sales recorded year-on-year growth of 55.9 per cent last month as the
demand for villas and apartments remained intact. However, home sales
transactions registered a 17.4 per cent decline month-on-month basis.
“The month-on-month performance saw cash and mortgage sales of ready properties
decline 13 per cent and off-plan Oqood (contract) registrations down 23.3 per
cent,” according to the ValuStrat Price Index (VPI).
Real estate shines in post Expo
In another development, Property Finder’s proprietary demand data showed that
the emirate recorded 6,983 real estate sales transactions worth Dh18.2 billion
in April, the highest ever for the month since 2009.
Secondary market sales transactions, comprising 60 per cent of the total,
constituted 4,212 transactions worth Dh12.86 billion, while off-plan properties,
comprising the remaining 40 per cent, constituted 2,771 properties worth a total
of Dh5.33 billion.
The real estate witnessed 45.48 per cent more transactions this April this year
compared to the same month last year, resulting in a 66.62 per cent spike in
value. This is broken down into a 46.2 per cent increase in the secondary volume
and a 63.86 per cent increase in value, as well as a 44 per cent increase in
off-plan sales transactions and a 73.68 per cent increase in value, according to
Property Finder’s data.
“All eyes were on the real estate performance post Expo 2020, and with April
2022 performing the highest since 2009, the data is a strong testament to the
growing appeal for the Dubai Real Estate Market. We also see a positive
sentiment for investment opportunities following various governmental
initiatives, including the recent new categories added to the golden visa rules,
making Dubai’s properties one of the most preferred investment assets for the
long term,” said Scott Bond, UAE country manager at Property Finder.
Slow progress
Haider Tuaima, director and head of real estate research at ValuStrat, said
Dubai real estate prices would continue to rise this year but at a slower pace.
“So far, transaction volumes have exceeded forecasts; however, as prices
increase to potentially unaffordable levels, together with rising interest
rates, we don’t expect this trend will continue at the same pace seen in 2020
and 2021. Residential transactions in April declined 17.4 per cent compared to
March,” Tuaima told Khaleej Times on Monday.
Promising future
Ata Shobeiry, chief executive of Zoom
Property, said 2022 looks promising for the Dubai property market and it is
expected to pack in a solid number in terms of sales transactions and figures.
“The recently reformed visa policies, launch of new developments, and a strong
recovery will keep attracting overseas investors. The number may not be as high
as the 2014 peak, but the growth will certainly be substantial,” Shobeiry told Khaleej
Times on Monday.
High-value deals
The residential price index, which posted a one per cent increase in capital
values to 79.8 points in April compared to a base period of January 2014,
noticed a high demand for luxury properties. The index, which recorded 19
transactions valued at over Dh30 million last month, highlighted a sale of a
six-bedroom villa located in Dubai Hills for Dh96 million.
“Capital value growth slows to a sustainable monthly pace for villas, whilst
apartments see no significant change. Dubai’s typical villa VPI reached 95.7
points; however, most typical apartments saw little or no monthly difference in
price, now at 69.7 points,” according to the report.
Villas in demand
Villas, which represent 13 per cent of the market, saw capital values grow at a
slower monthly rate of 1.8 per cent in April and moved closer to hitting January
2014 peak. Average year-on-year villa prices surged 33.8 per cent in April, and
the upward trend may continue this year but at a slower pace.
“We expect villas in Dubai to continue to witness high growth, particularly in
areas with little or no pending new supply. Some areas will witness the price
growth rate decelerate or stabilise,” Tuaima said.
Arabian Ranches (40.6 per cent), Jumeirah Islands (38.8 per cent), The Lakes
(36.6 per cent), Jumeirah Village (34.9 per cent), and Palm Jumeirah (34.6 per
cent) remained the most popular villa communities in April.
Some areas recorded a nominal increase in villa prices, as noticed in case of
Mudon (up 0.9 per cent) and Green Community West (0.8 per cent).
Shobeiry said the villa sector would continue its glorious run during the rest
of 2022.
“Both the prices and demand will rise, making them beneficial to more investors
and sellers. In particular, top villa communities will continue producing strong
figures for the Dubai property market,” he said.
Apartment prices pick up
Apartment prices also picked up in April and recorded a high single-digit growth
due to rising demand in the market. The VPI noticed an 8.1 per cent average hike
in apartment prices across the emirate last month, while some areas posted solid
double-digit growth due to high demand from the investors and end-users.
Apartments in Jumeirah Village broke their records with the most significant
number of homes sold in one month since 2010.
“Except highly desired prime locations, most apartments in Dubai will likely see
single-digit price increments this year,” Tuaima said.
Palm Jumeirah (20.8 per cent), the Burj Khalifa tower (16.4 per cent), Jumeirah
Beach Residence (15.6 per cent), and The Views (10.3 per cent) remained the most
popular areas for apartments in April. However, Jumeirah Village and Dubai
Sports City both recorded one per cent growth, and Dubai Production City (0.5
per cent) were among the areas that registered the lowest annual price growth
last month.
Shobeiry said the gap between the percentage growth of apartment and villa
prices would continue to narrow.
“During the first quarter of 2022, apartment prices grew nearly double digit. I
believe this milestone will be achieved towards the end of the second quarter as
the market sentiments look positive,” he said.
Emaar leads
Emaar remained a favourite developer of the property buyers as the projects
developed by the leading real estate company ranked high in the sales chart last
month.
Emaar (24.2 per cent), Damac (15.1 per cent), Nakheel (6.3 pet cent), Select
Group (3.7 per cent), and Dubai Properties (3.7 per cent) secured the top five
positions on the sales chart in April.
Top off-plan, ready homes locations
Business Bay (12.7 per cent), Dubai Creek Harbour (8.8 per cent), and Downtown
Dubai (8.8 per cent) led the off-plan locations last month while Damac Lagoons
(13.4 per cent), Jumeirah Village (8.4 per cent), Dubai Marina (seven per cent)
and Business Bay (4.7 per cent) were the most transacted areas for ready homes.
According to Property Finder’s proprietary demand data, the top areas of
interest in terms of transactions for villas or townhouses in April 2022 were
Dubai Hills Estate, Palm Jumeirah, Arabian Ranches, Damac Hills (Akoya by
Damac), and The Springs.
As for apartments for the same period, the top areas of interest were Dubai
Marina, Downtown Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay and Jumeirah Village Circle.