Dubai real estate powers through January 2024 with Dhs35bn in sales

Dubai’s real estate market looks set to continue its growth momentum in to 2024, according to Property Finder’s latest report that looked at the emirate’s transactions conducted for the month of January.

In its latest report, the property portal revealed that Dubai’s real estate sector witnessed a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 17 per cent in recorded sales transactions. This translates to over 11,000 transactions compared to 8,712 in January 2023.

January also showed a significant surge in the value of transactions reaching almost Dhs35bn, marking an increase of 27 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Cherif Sleiman, chief revenue officer at Property Finder, said, “We are delighted to see January build on the great momentum from last year, revealing positive scope for sustained successes in 2024. It’s interesting to see off-plan gain further traction, promising demand for new projects.”

Growing segments of Dubai’s real estate market

Demand for off-plan:

The report notes that off-plan showed more demand, with a YoY increase of approximately 25 per cent in volume and 6,000 recorded transactions. Values experienced a surge of around 21 per cent YoY, reaching roughly Dhs15bn, compared to Dhs12.2bn in January 2023.

Meanwhile, existing property transactions revealed a YoY increase of approximately 8 per cent in volume, with over 5,000 transactions. The value of these transactions surged by 31 per cent YoY, touching  Dhs21bn, compared to Dhs15.7bn in January 2023.

Apartments vs Villas/Townhouses:

The report found that a majority – 58 per cent of those looking to purchase a property were on the lookout for an apartment, while 42 per cent preferred villas or townhouses.

This trend was much more obvious in the rental market with 80 per cent of tenants in the rental market looking for apartments, while 20 per cent were searching for villas/townhouses.

Types of units in demand:

Approximately 36 per cent tenants searched for one bedroom units, 31 per cent for two-bedroom apartments and 22 per cent for studios.

For villas/townhouses, 43 per cent tenants were looking for three-bedroom units, while 34 per cent searched for a four bedroom or larger options.

Furnished vs unfurnished:

Roughly 62.2 per cent of tenants seeking apartments were found to choose furnished properties, while 36.1 per cent were searching for unfurnished options.

In contrast, tenants who are able to afford villa/townhouse rentals revealed the opposite, with about 57 per cent seeking unfurnished units and 42 per cent looking for furnished options.

Ownership vs rental choices

The Property Finder revealed that those looking to buy a one-bedroom apartment and a two-bedroom apartment were at 33 and 36 per cent while about 14 per cent were looking for studios.

The data for villas/townhouses showed that 40 per cent were primarily looking for three-bedroom units, while 44 per cent were searching for four-bedroom or larger options.

Most searched areas in Dubai

Top areas searched to own apartments were Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, and Palm Jumeirah.

Meanwhile, Dubai Hills Estate, Arabian Ranches, Palm Jumeirah, Al Furjan and Damac Hills were the most desired areas to own villas/townhouses.

Leading areas for rentals were Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay and Deira. Dubai Hills Estate, Al Barsha, Damac Hills 2, Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim were popular when it came to searches to rent villas/townhouses.

Also read: The secret to succeeding in the UAE’s competitive real estate landscape