Highlights include:
- Slow pace of launches will help rebalance the supply-demand ratio in the Dubai residential market
- 9,770 apartments and 2,507 villas/townhouses launched in Dubai year to date
- Various government initiatives and regulations are expected to spur investor appetite in Dubai in 2020
Dubai: Dubai has seen a lower rate of property launches this year compared to 2018 when developers rolled out a slew of projects with post-handover payment plans, adding to the excess supply in the market. This new subdued pace of launches will help rebalance the supply-demand ratio in the Dubai residential market and help developers to clear existing inventory.
There has been a total of 68 project launches, both in the freehold and non-freehold areas in Dubai so far in 2019, of which 37 did not have a specified number of units. The remaining 31 projects launched a total of 12,277 new units to the market, according to Data Finder, a real estate insights and data platform under the Property Finder Group.
Supply in Dubai is still more focused towards investors. There were 9,770 apartments and 2,507 villas/townhouses launched in Dubai year to date, according to Data Finder.
Dubai Creek Harbour, Mohammed Bin Rashid City and Dubailand were communities which saw most project launches in Dubai year to date in 2019.
In comparison, Dubai hosted 169 project launches for the entire year of 2018, of which 100 projects did not have a specified number of units. There were 33,123 new units launched under the remaining 69 projects, of which 26,667 were apartments and 6,456 were villas and townhouses.
Clearly, private developers believe they are better off completing their current projects rather than launching new ones until they see clear signs of a market turnaround. This also ties in with the brief of the Dubai higher committee for real estate planning to enable a healthier balance between supply and demand.
Rise in transactions
Despite the muted pace of project launches, there has been a 33 percent increase in Dubai real estate sales transactions this summer from June to August compared to the same time period in 2018.
Dubai has registered 26,126 residential sales transactions so far this year, of which off-plan accounted for 15,031 deals and secondary contributed to 11,095 transactions.
“Off-plan transactions are still going strong and will most likely continue to dominate in transaction sales throughout 2020. We have a large pipeline of new units coming into the market over the next few years, which will continue to put pressure on prices until the supply is absorbed. However, with the various government initiatives and regulations, this should spur investor appetite in Dubai in 2020,” says Lynnette Abad, Director of Data and Research, Property Finder.
The top transacted areas for off-plan sales in September were Liwan in Queue Point, Dubai South, Meydan, Business Bay and Arabian Ranches 3 while top areas for ready house sales were International City, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay and Dubai Sports City.
In terms of supply, 33,427 residential units in the freehold and non-freehold areas have been completed so far in Dubai this year. In September alone, 3,249 units were completed across 23 projects in Dubai, 68 units across one project in Abu Dhabi and 184 units across two projects in the Northern Emirates.
Demand data
Taking a look at Property Finder’s demand data from the last 30 days, nearly three times as many users searched for a property to rent in Dubai Marina versus looking for a property to buy. Downtown Dubai saw double the amount of buy searches than rent searches, but Palm Jumeirah saw a smaller margin when it came to the difference between the buy and rent searches. In Abu Dhabi, the difference between the buy and rent searches is almost 5x greater for the top searched communities.
Palm Jumeirah and Al Barsha dominated user searches in Dubai while Al Reem Island and Al Raha Beach accounted for most searches in Abu Dhabi on Property Finder.
This suggests that there is still considerable demand for both buying and renting property in Dubai. Downtown Dubai in particular remains high on the investor agenda, potentially for holiday home rentals. However, the overall trend is towards renting, even though at a lot of these locations, prices are easily accessible for a buy.
About Property Finder – www.propertyfinder.ae
Property Finder is the leading property portal in the MENA region and Turkey that facilitates the house-hunting journey for both buyers and renters.
Founded in 2007, the website has evolved over the years as the go-to platform for developers, real estate brokerages, and house hunters to make informed decisions on all things real estate.
A UAE-born start-up, Property Finder has branched out of the country’s shores and operates in a total of seven markets, including Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, and Morocco, and has a significant stake in the second-largest property portal in Turkey, which has over 6 million monthly visitors and more than 18,000 real estate agents.
US private equity firm General Atlantic led Property Finder’s latest round of investment of a total of $120 million in 2018. This is being used to hire further exceptional talent and investing in its technology and product capabilities.
The property portal employs over 450 employees globally, of which 204 people work out of its Dubai office, and generates over six million monthly visits as a Group.
In April 2019, Property Finder announced the acquisition of JRD Group, following an increased investment in Turkish portal Zingat.
In 2014, Property Finder acquired eSimsar.com, the top property portal in Saudi Arabia, while in 2013, the Group bought out realestate.com.lb, the number 1 property portal in Lebanon, and lastly, the acquisition of Selektimmo, a Moroccan portal, to pad out sarouty.ma, Property Finder’s Moroccan offering, in 2016.
For media enquiries, please contact Anna Lucas Southgate
anna@propertyfinder.ae
+971 55 115 9971
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