International investors boosting Dubai property market, say developers at Cityscape

International investors have played a major role in boosting Dubai’s property market this year, according to developers taking part in the emirate’s primary real estate exhibition, Cityscape Global.

The event, which is taking place in the Dubai Exhibition Centre at the Expo 2020 site, features more than 70 real estate developers, architecture companies and consultancies.

Speaking at the event, developers stressed that Dubai’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, with limited lockdowns and strict enforcement of precautionary guidelines, has attracted several investors from across the world, which in turn has led to strong demand in the market.

During the first nine months of the year, a total of 43,299 property sales transactions worth Dhs104.3bn were recorded in Dubai, with the values up 45.15 per cent compared to 2020 as a whole.

Read: Dubai real estate transactions cross Dhs100bn mark during Jan-Sep this year

“Yes, there has been pent-up demand. That’s one thing. But cities that have been doing well during Covid times are going to have strong foreign investment coming in. And Dubai has been doing that. What we see is that there are new buyers from countries which were not necessarily seeing Dubai as a place to live and bring their families [in the past],” explains Farhad Azizi, CEO of Azizi Developments.

“There are a lot of Chinese buyers. While they were always there, but their numbers have increased a lot. They also buy a lot of luxurious products. And then we have investors from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We also have a lot more Saudi nationals buying properties in Dubai, despite travel restrictions.”

The emirate’s property market has also seen increased interest from Europe, especially from those looking to purchase second homes, adds Nasser Amer, vice-president – Sales at Deyaar.

“The majority of the sales is happening from overseas. Basically the pandemic has changed the way investors are looking at real estate. Customers have started to appreciate the way the UAE government has handled the pandemic. And we’ve seen that the lockdowns in most of Europe lasted a long time. In Dubai and the UAE, the lockdown period was very brief. [Investors felt] they should have another home somewhere in a place like this, and hence this started the flow of investments into Dubai. We have seen buyers from Europe, specifically from France, Russia, and the UK increase. And they are looking at luxury, upmarket apartments,” he says.

On day one of Cityscape, new launches were also showcased by Sobha Realty and Danube Properties.

Sobha Realty launched Waves Grande – the second residential tower at the Waterfront District in Sobha Hartland – part of Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City.

Featuring 35 residential floors and 440 units, the tower also offers three levels of amenities including an outdoor yoga zone, swimming pool with private cabanas, a play zone for kids as well as an outdoor cinema.

It is scheduled to be completed in March 2024.

Meanwhile Danube Properties showcased its latest project, the Dhs475m Skyz, which offers units ranging from Dhs399,000 for a studio, Dhs599,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and Dhs799,000 for a two-bedroom flat.

The project, which will have 808 units, will be developed at the Arjan master-planned community in Dubai.