Dubai property market sees 11-year high in real estate transactions
DLD records almost 5000 real estate transactions in October 2019, the highest recorded number since 2008
Real estate portal, Property Finder has stated that the Dubai Land Department (DLD) has recorded 4774 overall property sales for the month of October, the highest since 2008, disputing claims of Dubai’s property market weakening.
According to a statement from the real estate portal, the emirate also registered 2,841 overall off-plan transactions last month, the second highest since September 2015 which recorded 3,258 deals.
Dubai Creek Harbour recorded the most transactions in October 2019, according to the data released by Data Finder, the data platform under Property Finder, at 438 deals, while Business Bay was at 351 transactions. Meanwhile, Dubai South recorded 329 transactions, Villanova- a residential community by Dubai properties saw 221 transactions, and International City followed closely at 221 deals.
Lynette Abad, director of data and research at Property Finder, said: “There is a lot of new supply in the market that is priced affordably and as we get closer to Expo 2020, we have seen many consumers decide this is the right time to buy. This is an indication of consumer confidence in the market leading to 2020.”
The report further stated that there was more demand for apartments over villas and town houses, with popular areas for apartments being Business Bay, Downtown Dubai, Al Khail Heights and International City. For off-plan, the top picks for buyers were Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai South, Business Bay, Villanova, and Jumeirah.
Additionally, the top five most popular communities for villa and town house sales were Dubai South with 297 sales, followed by Villanova, Cherrywoods, Arabian Ranches 3 and Serena. In the secondary market, the areas with the highest sales were Mudon with 56 transactions, followed by Dubai Hills Estate and Akoya Oxygen.
Abad added: “There are currently many different dynamics in the market. Recently, the UAE Central Bank has removed the 70-year age limit for the last mortgage repayment and they also lifted the 20 per cent cap on real estate lending for banks.”
According to Property Finder, Dubai property prices have been declining since 2014 due to a three-year slump in oil prices and market oversupply, however other factors have helped increase sales recently. The central bank has issued a notice to remove the 3 per cent early settlement fee for mortgages introduced last year and go with the default 1 per cent or $2722 cap. This is part of a series of moves aimed at easing home loans.
