The Dubai residential market has seen a significant shift in development and transactions from luxury to affordable units over the past few years, according to Property Finder, the leading property portal in the MENA region.
Dubai has traditionally been perceived as a hub for luxury properties, with the emirate attracting several high-net-worth individuals from across the world who invest in second or holiday homes in Dubai. But with the market dynamics changing, property in Dubai is getting more affordable and is now within the reach of several first-time home buyers, who had earlier been priced out of the market.
Looking at transactional data from Data Finder, a real estate insights and data platform under the Property Finder Group, the number of units sold in the luxury segment, both off-plan and secondary, has declined year on year since 2016.
In 2019 (until end of July), there have been 179 residential units sold in off-plan sales over AED 5 million compared to 12,403 units which were sold under AED 5 million. In the secondary market, 527 residential units sold were over AED 5 million compared to 8,772 units which were under AED 5 million., according to Data Finder statistics.
In 2018, there were 241 residential units sold in off-plan sales over AED 5 million compared to 17,235 units which were sold under AED 5 million. In the secondary market, 1,020 residential units sold were over AED 5 million compared to 14,520 units which were under AED 5 million.
This data clearly shows how buyers are gravitating towards Dubai properties priced below AED 5 million, which can be classified as affordable. Even developers have been quick to gauge this change in market sentiment and have been proactive in launching more affordable projects.
“Over the last few years, there has been a significant shift in development to affordable units in the residential market and the demand has been quite strong. Therefore, the majority of units developed over the last few years have all been in the affordable segment,” says Lynnette Abad, Director of Research & Data, Property Finder.
Performance in 2016 and 2017
Meanwhile, in 2017, there were 335 residential units sold in off-plan sales over AED 5 million compared to 24,570 units which were sold under AED 5 million. Off-plan property sales had the best showing in 2017 owing to a slew of post-handover payment plans and other developer incentives aimed at attracting new buyers to Dubai real estate.
The secondary market did not fare too badly either in 2017, with 1,273 residential units sold over AED 5 million compared to 12,725 units under AED 5 million.
A year earlier in 2016, 14,591 off-plan residential units were sold under AED 5 million compared to only 329 such homes sold for a value of over AED 5 million. In the secondary market, 12,808 residential units were sold under AED 5 million in contrast with only 1,254 such homes sold for over AED 5 million.
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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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