Indians ranked as top foreign investors in Dubai property in H1
Indian investors carried out $2.12bn worth of transactions in the first half of 2015, followed by British, Pakistanis and Canadians
Indian investors have topped the list of foreign investors in Dubai’s property market in the first half of 2015, conducting transactions worth $2.12 billion (AED7.8bn), official statistics show.
According to figures from the Dubai Land Department (DLD), Indian investors came in first for foreign investments, carrying out over 3,000 transactions. They were followed by British investors in second place, conducting deals worth $1.28 billion (AED4.7bn).
Pakistani and Canadian investors were ranked at third and fourth places respectively, DLD said in a statement. The list of foreign investors also included citizens from Iran, Russia, the United States, China, France and Afghanistan.
A total of 19,848 investors spent over $14.4 billion (AED53bn) in Dubai’s real estate market in the first half of the year, DLD revealed.
“Based on the strong performance of the market, we fully anticipate that the momentum will be continued throughout the next five years as we lead up to Expo 2020,” said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of DLD.
GCC investors completed $4.63 billion (AED17bn) worth of deals in H1, the statement said. Emirati nationals accounted for the lion’s share among GCC investors, spending $3.13 billion (AED11.5bn) in property investments. Saudi Arabia came in second on the list of real estate investors from the Gulf, followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
Meanwhile, 2,756 investors from 16 nations in the wider Arab world conducted transactions worth $1.63 billion (AED6bn) in H1 2015. Among non-GCC Arab investors, Jordanians ranked first with $381.1 million (AED1.4bn) worth of transactions, followed by Lebanese and Egyptian investors. Other Arab investors were from Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Algeria, Palestine and Morocco.
Bin Mejren noted that the diversity in investor nationalities reflects the international nature of Dubai’s property market.
Moreover, Dubai has recorded “excellent growth” across different sectors, indicating the success of its economic diversification policy, he added.
“The policy has meant that the drop in oil prices in global markets has not had a major negative impact on the nation’s economic performance. The Dubai real estate market is evidence of this success, with its ability to attract buyers from around the world.”
