The latest headlines on Dubai’s property market

For PropertyGuru’s real estate news roundup, we focus on Dubai. Its high-end property sales held steady in the first half of 2024 despite a drop in listings. Dubai is expected to record the handover of 38,174 new homes this year. And its office sector exhibited robust performance in the second quarter of 2024.

Dubai’s high-end property sales undented by drop in listings

The number of homes worth USD10 million or more sold in Dubai held steady in the first half of the year despite a drop in listings, an industry report showed on Monday, as demand from the international ultra-rich stayed strong.

Reuters reports that a total of 190 homes worth an overall USD3.2 billion were sold in the six months to the end of June compared with 189 properties for USD3.3 billion in the same period of 2023, according to provisional data from property consultancy Knight Frank.

The total number of deals held up despite a 65.5 percent year-on-year drop in the number of such luxury homes available on the market in the second quarter, the report showed. “This is a strong sign of the ‘buy-to-hold’ buyer profile that has taken root in the market,” Faisal Durrani, Knight Frank’s head of research for Middle East and North Africa (MENA), was quoted as saying in the report.

The trend suggests international high-net-worth individuals “are largely focused on purchasing homes in the city for personal use, rather than to ‘flip’, which was a defining feature of the previous two market cycles,” he added.

This year, Dubai will hand over a record 38,174 new homes

According to a recent report from consultancy ValuStrat, as the real estate market surges, Dubai is expected to record the handover of 38,174 new homes this year. The consultancy reports that, as of the first half of this year, the total estimated completions amounted to 6,939 apartments and 2,145 villas, equaling 20 percent of the preliminary estimates for the entire year 2024.

As per PropertyNews.ae, the consultancy report says significant villa completions during the second quarter included Silver Springs 3 in Damac Hills with 258 villas and Murroj Al Furjan West with 161 units. Notable apartment completions during the same period included Creek Views 1 and 2, with 634 and 587 apartments.

In ValuStrat’s estimation, about 91,718 apartments and 28,385 villas are presently under construction in Dubai, with completion scheduled for 2028. The findings showed that of these projects, 10 percent are situated in Jumeirah Village Circle, 10 percent are in Business Bay, and 5 percent are at Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

Dubai’s office stock grows by 20,000 sq. m., Abu Dhabi adds 7,500 sq. m. in Q2 2024: Report

A new report suggested that the UAE’s office sector exhibited robust performance in the second quarter of 2024.

According to JLL‘s UAE Real Estate Market Overview report, the growth is attributed to a “strong economy, diverse demand, and occupiers’ focus on quality spaces and sustainability,” the report stated. It further highlighted increases in office space, rising rents, and decreasing vacancy rates in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai’s office gross leasable area (GLA) expanded by 20,000 sq. m., bringing the total stock to 9.26 million sq. m. Abu Dhabi’s total stock remained at 3.95 million sq. m., with a limited delivery of 7,500 sq. m. However, an additional 125,000 sq. m. is scheduled for completion in the second half of the year.

Economy Middle East reports that rents in both cities increased, with Dubai’s central business district (CBD) seeing a 15 percent year-on-year rise to AED2,630 per sq. m. per annum. Abu Dhabi’s average Grade A rents increased by 10 percent to AED2,085 per sq. m. per annum.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].