At last, there is good news for the real estate sector of Dubai as the luxury market picked up in the first half of 2017, following several years of declining prices and stagnant transactions. The total prime sales volume hit AED3.6 billion (USD980 million) in the second quarter, up from AED3.4 billion (USD926 million) in the first quarter.
According to the luxury Dubai brokerage Luxhabitat, sales volume in prime neighbourhoods rose 4 per cent in the second quarter over the first and 9 per cent since the second quarter of last year.
People also showed interest in villas as the data of the second quarter revealed that there was 7 per cent bump in the transaction volume for these single-family mansions. Of the 217 villas sold in the Dubai’s prime quarters, the average price was AED12 million (USD3.267 million). However, majority of the sales was reported for the apartments.
Feeling buoyant over the existing market conditions, Jason Hayes, managing director at Luxhabitat, said, “The uptick in volume and prices in the second quarter reflect the ongoing positivity and confidence in the market.”
The woes of the Dubai real estate market started in mid-2014 as crude oil prices fell drastically, which is a key source of income for the region. As a result, real estate prices also plummeted and have stagnated since that period.
However, real estate analysts point out that Dubai’s market is now showing signs of revival.
Palm Jumeriah has emerged as the most expensive neighbourhood in Dubai as the average price of a home on this manmade archipelago was AED 4.8 million (USD1.3 million) in the second quarter. Luxhabitat analysed the data for the 12 luxury neighbourhoods of Dubai.
According to Luxhabitat, the most expensive sale in Dubai in the second quarter was a AED 90 million (USD24.5 million) villa in the Emirates Hills development, designed after California’s posh Beverly Hills. The second most expensive transaction was also a villa, which sold for AED 84 million (USD22.9 million) on the Palm.