Dubai property transaction values drop 12.4% in H1 2016

Real estate transactions totalled Dhs 113bn, according to the Dubai Land Department

by Aarti Nagraj

July 19, 2016

Real estate transaction values in Dubai dropped 12.4 per cent in the first half of this year to Dhs 113bn, down from Dhs 129bn in H1 2015, according to the latest figures issued by the Dubai Land Department (DLD).

However transaction volumes increased by 22.8 per cent year-on-year to reach 28,251, the report found.

Property sales contributed towards 43 per cent of the total, with more than 20,000 transactions comprising a combined value of Dhs 48.715bn.

Meanwhile mortgages accounted for 6,391 transactions with a collective value of Dhs 48.366bn.

Total land transactions reached Dhs 84bn, while the value of transactions from buildings and units touched Dhs 28bn during the first half of 2016.

The report also found that the Seeh Shuaib 1 area of Dubai was the most attractive for investors, with the value of its land sales hitting Dhs 2.36bn through 1,227 deals.

This was followed by the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Gardens and Al Yafra 3 areas.

In terms of total unit sales, Business Bay took the first place with a value of Dhs 2.349bn, followed by Dubai Marina and Warsan 1.

DLD director general Sultan Butti Bin Merjen said: “Dubai has achieved a high percentage of growth with the value and the number of real estate transactions, which provides reassurance about the positive development that the Dubai property market is witnessing, and proves the attractiveness of the emirate’s real estate.”

Dubai’s property market has cooled in the last two years, with residential prices down 1.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2016, according to ValuStrat’s recent price index.

The firm said its data indicated an early recovery was materialising in some areas, with a possible bottoming-out of property values during the course of the year.

However, a report from JLL earlier this week stated that Dubai’s residential rentals continue to face a “downward slope” following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

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