Highlights:

  • 45 percent of all transactions were off-plan
  • 1/3rd of all off-plan villa/townhouses sold in August 2021 were in Arabian Ranches 3

Dubai: During the pandemic in 2020, developers decided not to launch new projects but rather focus on completing the ones currently under construction. This trend went through H1 of 2020. 

Then, during 2020, we saw a very consistent trend with villa/townhouses, they were in high demand. Therefore, several of the major developers, who were in the process of building and completing their developments, decided to add additional sub-projects consisting of villa/townhouses within the larger projects in H2. This proved to be a success as units were selling out within hours with buyers queuing in large lines reminiscent of 2013/14.

In 2021, the off-plan market has been thriving since the beginning of the year. Developers are now starting to launch new villa/townhouse communities mostly in the suburban parts of Dubai such as Dubailand and Dubai South and they are selling out quickly. Compared to July 2021, total value for off-plan is up 44% and volume is up by 46%.

When we take a look at August 2021 specifically, the Dubai off-plan market saw 2,599 off-plan sales transactions worth AED 4.95 billion take place. AED 4.95 billion is the highest value we have seen in a month for off-plan properties since December 2013, 2,599 is also the highest number of off-plan transactions in a calendar month since November 2019.

The top areas for off-plan villa/townhouses sales transactions were Arabian Ranches 3 (187 units) followed by Villanova (157), Tilal al Ghaf (79), Dubai South (58) and Mohammed bin Rashid City (16). For off-plan apartment sales transactions Dubai Harbour (260 units) had the most sales followed by Mohammed bin Rashid City (239), Business Bay (219), Jumeirah Village Circle(171) and Jumeirah Lakes Towers(137). 

“During the pandemic last year, the off-plan market significantly declined. The average was about 30% of properties sold were in the off-plan segment. Today, we have bounced back to 2019 ratios where secondary and off-plan segments are almost 50/50. This is a clear indication that investors are coming back into the market due to their confidence in the future of Dubai.” says Lynnette Sacchetto, Director of Research and Data for Property Finder.

A deeper dive into the number shows us that it's not only the transactions that have increased but the buyer appetite for higher valued units has also increased. The average transaction price for an off-plan property year-on-year has increased by 53 percent from AED 1,246,009 in August 2020 to AED 1,904,635 in August 2021.  If we look at the median price for off-plan apartment sales transactions in August 2020, it was AED 745,500 and has increased year-on-year by 48 percent to AED1,100,000. We now see a 12 percent increase in the median price for off-plan villa/townhouses sales transactions as they increased from AED 1,622,000 in August 2020 to AED1,817,888 in August 2021.

Sacchetto added that “With the expo less than two weeks away, I believe the off-plan market will continue to thrive. Looking at completed supply in 2021 as of September, we had a total of a little over 34,000 units completed. In the apartment sector, over 26,000 units were completed and for villa/townhouses over 6,000 units. Now the question is, will there be enough stock available to sell in the off-plan market to fulfill investor demand, especially with  foreign investors coming in over the next six months for EXPO2020? ” 

The top areas in off-plan demand in the month of August 2021 according to proprietary Property Finder data for Villa/Townhouses were Dubai Hills Estate, Arabian Ranches, Palm Jumeirah, Damac Hills 2 and Mohammed bin Rashid City. For apartments, as always Dubai Marina stands out as the top area for demand followed by Downtown Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay and Jumeirah Village circle.

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 and Egypt, 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
Faisal Zaidi
faisal@propertyfinder.ae 
+971 55 2000 840

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© Press Release 2021

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