• Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Dubai, and Business Bay were the top searched apartment for sale communities to date in 2018
  • Report reveals The Villa, The Akoya Oxygen, and Mudon and as the top searched villa for sale communities in Dubai, as well as more established upmarket communities such as Arabian Ranches and Palm Jumeirah
  • On average, real estate prices have declined -8% for apartments and -9% for villas in the most searched areas in the first three quarters of 2018 compared to the same time period in 2017 

Dubai — dubizzle Property, the UAE’s biggest and most visited online property platform, has released a report providing insight into the Dubai’s top searched communities, comparing prices in the first three quarters of 2017 and 2018 YoY. The findings reveal that residential properties, particularly in prime neighborhoods, are now more affordable and driving greater interest among potential buyers.

Top 5 searched villa communities for sale

dubizzle Property has over 130k listings at any given time and registers over 100K daily visits. According to the report, the top five searched villa communities for sale so far in 2018 were The Villa (23%), Arabian Ranches (21%), the Palm Jumeirah (20%), Akoya Oxygen (18%), and Mudon (17%).

The Palm Jumeirah moved into the top 5 searched villa communities in 2018, reflecting a trend that softening purchase prices are encouraging residents to consider higher end communities as they become more affordable. The new development in Dubailand, Mudon, also entered the top searched communities this year, signifying the effect of off-plan developments on boosting the real estate market.

Taking a closer look at the villa communities, dubizzle Property compared the sale prices from the first three quarters of 2018 compared to 2017 for those popular residential neighbourhoods. The sale price per sqft. for three- to five-bedroom villas in Arabian Ranches is now an average of AED 1,082 per sqft., representing a 5 percent decrease compared to 2017.

Following the same trend, sale price per sqft for Palm Jumeirah and Mudon decreased for three- to five-bedroom villas over the same period, reducing by 7 percent and 6 percent respectively, with villas in these communities currently averaging at AED 1,971 per sqft. in Palm Jumeirah and AED 843 in Mudon.

The current sale price of The Villa community has shown the most significant decrease, now standing at AED 756 per sqft which indicates a 16 percent decline during this period. However, bucking this trend is Akoya Oxygen which has experienced an average increase of 13 percent, with the average price now standing at just AED 680 per sqft.

Top 5 searched apartment communities for sale

The top five searched apartment communities year-to-date for 2018 were Dubai Marina (36%) searches, Jumeirah Lake Towers (21%), Jumeirah Village Circle (17%), Downtown Dubai (13%), and Business Bay (12%).

The perennial expat and investor favourite, Dubai Marina remained relatively unchanged, with prices dropping just an average of 1 percent across one-to three-bedroom apartments in the area. This was driven by a demand for 3BR apartments, which have increased the sale price by 5 percent to AED 1,647 per sqft as of Q3 2018. However, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in the same area saw a decrease of 3 percent and 4 percent respectively.

Downtown Dubai remains the highest valued area for apartments, with an average of AED 2,088 per sq ft. However, prices have declined an average 12 percent year-on-year across one-to three-bedroom apartments, with the average price for a one-bedroom apartment now at AED 1,882 per sqft, AED 2,041 per sqft for a two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartments costing an average of AED 3,241 per sqft.

Jumeirah Lakes Towers also experienced an average of 12 percent decrease in sale price, while Jumeirah Village Circle and Business Bay experienced a decline of six percent and 10 percent respectively. Smaller one-bedroom apartments in these areas are performing better than larger two-and three-bedroom apartments, with one-bedroom apartments in Jumeirah Village Circle remaining almost flat (-1%) while two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments have dropped by 10 percent and seven percent respectively in the same area.

Commenting on the findings, Samer Abdin, General Manager of dubizzle Property, said: “Overall, we have seen a substantial increase in users searching for properties for sale in 2018 year to date versus the same period last year, as the softening real estate market continues to provide an investment opportunity that was not always available to many. Our data highlights this is a particular trend in the prime areas such as Palm Jumeirah which was not even amongst the top 5 searched communities in 2017.”

“Positive policy decisions by the UAE government, such as the recently announced retirement visa, will continue to boost the property market and is expected to drive further investment. In addition, property transactions have become even more efficient and transparent thanks to the digital transformation underway in the real estate market. The launch of the Real Estate Self Transaction (REST) portal as well as the introduction of eMortgages will make transactions easier than ever,” he added.

Notes: 

  • Price comparisons are median price per sqft. within that community for the respective quarter
  • Increases or decreases are calculated looking at Q1-Q3 2017 vs. Q1-Q3 2018

-Ends-

About dubizzle:

dubizzle is the leading classifieds platform for users in the United Arab Emirates. Since its launch in 2005, dubizzle has become the number one platform for users to buy, sell, or find anything in their community. A community where underused goods are redistributed to fill a new need, and become wanted again, where non-product assets such as space, skills and money are exchanged and traded in new ways that don’t always require centralized institutions or ‘middlemen’.

dubizzle is an OLX company: OLX Group is the world's leading online classifieds platform present in more than 40 countries across six continents. We connect local people to buy and sell used goods, services, cars and properties. We make it fast and easy to buy or sell almost anything through your mobile phone or on the web.

Through brands including OLX, Avito, dubizzle and letgo, OLX Group is the home of online classifieds in high-growth markets. We are the leading destination for buying and selling used goods and services in 35 countries, and the #1 mobile app in our category in more than 22 markets. Globally we estimate that around 11 million items are exchanged through our platforms every single month, giving products a second life and reducing their ecological footprint.

OLX Arabia is actively expanding in the MENA region in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

For further information, please contact:

Abdallah Touqan

Director of PR, Communications & Events

Abdallah@dubizzle.com

+971 55 9866 891

Grayling PR

dubizzle@grayling.com  

© Press Release 2018

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