Dubai’s property sector is back in the spotlight as one of the hottest real estate markets where individuals and investors flock in droves to purchase high-end properties, Betterhomes said on Tuesday.
Releasing its H1 2021 Dubai Real Estate Market Report, the real estate brokerage said that the number of units sold increased by 70 per cent in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year and 52 per cent compared to H1 2019. “With an overall positive economic and employment sentiment in Dubai, residents have been investing heavily in the property over the past six months.”
Richard Waind, group managing director, said in the first half of 2021, the Dubai property market saw transaction levels at their highest for over a decade. “Domestically, low interest rates and improving job sentiment, coupled with a focus on the “home” brought on by the pandemic, have led to a surge in demand from residents.”
Internationally, Dubai’s Covid-19 response and business-friendly approach have won many admirers, said Waind. “As a result, investors have returned in large numbers, looking to take advantage of both improving capital growth prospects and attractive rental yields, which remain higher than most established markets.”
He said prices would continue on an upward trajectory for the next couple of years with the US Fed reserve indicating that interest rates will remain at their current low levels well into 2022 and the supply of new units peaking and expected to drop from next year.
“However, with rental prices lagging sales prices in many places, we see investor margins are being squeezed, especially in periphery communities with lots of new apartment supply, so I expect we will continue to see some winners and some losers in terms of prices across the market,” said Waind.
