Dubai property market starting to recover – ValuStrat
Values indicate first improvement in almost two years
The Dubai property market is showing the first signs of recovery in almost two years, according to the real estate consulting firm ValuStrat.
The market witnessed subdued sales activity in 2015, with Dubai apartment prices falling by 13 percent, and villas down 11 percent, according to JLL.
But the first quarter of 2016 saw “minute indications of an early recovery in some areas… signalling possible signs of a bottoming-out in property values,” ValuStrat said.
The ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) – which monitors property prices across 16 apartment and 10 villa locations in Dubai – showed a 3.5% annual decline in values.
However, the index edged up to 98.0 index points in February and March, from 97.9% in January, marking the first sign of improvement in almost two years, ValuStrat said.
“More end users are seeking to get on the property ladder, anticipating long term capital appreciation while saving on monthly rental expenditure,” it said in a statement.
The median apartment value in March was AED 14,198 per sq m (AED 1,319 per sq ft) and for villas was AED 14,650 per sq m (AED 1,361 per sq ft).
“High-end villas priced more than AED 10 million saw about double the number of transactions as compared to the previous quarter. Also, their share of overall villa registrations increased from 5.7% in the last quarter to 11.1% now,” said Haider Tuaima, ValuStrat Research Manager.
Eight off-plan residential projects were launched in the first quarter, adding more than 2,000 units to the residential pipeline by 2021, ValuStrat said. Office transaction prices fell by 9% since last year and 3.1% since the last quarter.
