Dubai sees property deals worth $1.52 during Ramadan 2019, analysis finds
Property Finder’s Research & Data team finds a 51% increase in off-plan property deals for 2019 compared to previous year
Property deals cumulatively worth $1.52 billion were transacted in Dubai solely during Ramadan this year, analysis by the Research & Data team at Property Finder has found.
According to data released by the property portal, there were off-plan transactions worth $715.9 million in Dubai during Ramadan 2019. This was an increase of 51% compared to off-plan property deals worth $473.6 million during Ramadan 2018, and a 54% increase compared to off-plan transactions worth $465.5 million during Ramadan 2017.
“It is also important to note the total average price for off-plan residential transactions has increased year on year. The overall average price for off-plan residential transactions in 2018 was Dh 1.23 million while in 2019, the overall average price is Dh 1.42 million,” said Lynnette Abad, director of Research & Data, Property Finder.
Most off-plan property transactions during Ramadan this year have been in Downtown Dubai, Meydan One and The Lagoons in Dubai Creek Harbour. Projects like Dubai South, Dubai Hills Estate, Mohammed Bin Rashid City and Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) also saw healthy off-plan demand.
The secondary property market did not fare badly either during Ramadan 2019, Abad added, pointing out that Dubai witnessed $827.5 million worth of properties exchange hands on the secondary market during the Holy Month.
This translates to a decrease of 36% compared to similar deals worth$1.2billion during Ramadan 2018 and a dip of 16% compared to deals worth $982.7million signed during Ramadan 2017.
Ramadan has coincided with summer since 2008. However, this year is different since Ramadan was observed before summer. House viewings tend to decrease during summer in Dubai owing to the heat and school holidays, resulting in several families travelling, the property firm said in its statement.
In 2018, 8% of the overall property sales transactions in Dubai happened during Ramadan (May-June). These were cumulatively worth $1.76 billion.
Volume of transactions
In terms of volume, Dubai witnessed a total of 3,089 transactions during Ramadan 2019 compared to 2,684 transactions for the same timeframe last year.
There were 1,851 off-plan transactions registered in Dubai throughout the Holy Month in 2019. This is a 31% increase compared to the 1,417 off-plan deals transacted during Ramadan 2018 and up 34% compared to the 1,377 off-plan property deals during Ramadan 2017.
“Off-plan sales are continuing strong this year and did not slow down during the month of Ramadan. Based on all the data, it is clear that Ramadan has remained consistent with all the other months throughout the year over the last few years. Therefore, the statement that property sales slowdown during Ramadan is pure myth,” added Abad.
As for the secondary market, Dubai witnessed 1,238 property transactions through the course of Ramadan 2019. This is down 2% compared to 1,267 similar deals during Ramadan 2018 and up 6% compared to 1,165 such transactions in Ramadan 2017.
Demand for secondary properties was strong in established communities such as Business Bay, Dubai Marina, JVC, International City, Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Emirates Living during Ramadan this year.
