The first quarter of 2021 has seen extensive growth in the overall Dubai property market performance.
According to the Dubai Land Department records, the number of transferred properties has increased by 15%, while the total value of the transacted properties has increased by 17% as compared to Q1 2020 prior to the Covid-19 lockdown.
This significant spike in property demand was driven primarily by the residents of UAE since the majority of countries were facing lockdown and travel restrictions.
End-users represented a significant portion among all home buyers during the quarter, the lower LTV (Loan-to-Value) ratio and favorable interest rates offered by the banks created an ideal opportunity for tenants to secure a home loan and own a property, pushing mortgage transactions to a new high record of 6,068 transactions an increase of 58% comparing to the previous quarter and 69% as opposed to the same quarter last year.
Off-plan property transactions accounted for only 28% of total market transactions during q1 2021 confirming buyer preference for ready properties. 8302 transfers at a total value of 19.9 Billion AED were registered as a ready property transaction, recording an increase of 14% comparing to the previous quarter and 33% year on year in terms of the value of properties sold.
On the other hand, off-plan property performance remained stable compared to the previous quarter however still down by 22% year on year in terms of the value of properties sold.
Without a doubt, the off-plan property market is expected to recover in the coming months. In fact, multiple new developments were launched in the last few days of the quarter, where home developers managed to sell out with a matter of hours. However, these new transactions didn’t reflect on the Dubai Land department’s system yet due to the registration process. The numbers will definitely contribute to the statistics of Q2 2021, pushing the off-plan market performance higher.
Palm Jumeirah registered the highest value of transferred properties at 1.9 Billion AED split between 572 transactions followed by Dubai Marina with 761 transactions at a total value of 1.3 Billion and
downtown came 3rd with 939 Million AED invested split between 362 transactions, these numbers act as proof to buyers’ appetite for prime properties.
In terms of luxury property, 150 properties were sold and transferred above the 10 Million AED figure, an 18% increase in the number of luxury properties sold as opposed to the same quarter last year, 50% of these transactions took place in Palm Jumeirah, placing it as top luxury property accusation choice for HNWI’s AND UHNWI’s in Dubai. The highest recorded transaction was a custom-made villa on frond N sold for whopping 112 Million AED crowning it as the most expensive property ever sold in Palm Jumeirah - Dubai.
As mentioned in our previous report analysis, we expected an increase in transactional prices for most of Dubai’s villa and townhouse communities and a slight price improvement for apartment communities in prime locations. We also expected apartment communities in non-prime locations to still experience supply pressure, and the market performed just as expected.
Nearly all villa and townhouse communities in Dubai registered an increase in the average transactional price per sq. ft. The top three gainers were Emirates Living with a 16% increase, The Villa with a 14% increase, and Dubai Hills Estate & Jumeirah Golf Estate with a 12% increase. The only two villa communities that registered a decline in the average transactional price were Green Community (Motor City) and Dubai South.
Moving on to the prime apartment communities, the top three gainers in terms of price increase were Culture Village with a 14% increase, Dubai Hills Estate with an 8% increase, City Walk and JBR together with a 6% increase.
On the other hand, multiple communities have recorded a decrease in transactional values. Communities that suffered from the greatest decrease were Dubai South, Liwan & Dubai Since Park respectively.