The luxury property sales market in Dubai has seen an uptick in the volume of transactions during the first half (H1) of the year, compared to H1 2018, according to Data Finder, a real estate insights and data platform under the Property Finder Group, a leading property portal in the region.

Any property transaction exceeding Dh10 million ($2.72 million) in value has been considered for this analysis. The Dubai luxury housing market registered 194 transactions in H1 2019 as compared to 115 such transactions in H1 2018.

There has been a return in demand for established communities such as the Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and Emirates Hills. These areas, once considered overpriced, are now attractive as prices have declined. But there is also plenty of activity happening in the luxury space in new projects such as Dubai Hills Estate and Mohammed Bin Rashid City.

There was an off-plan transaction registered for a penthouse in Omniyat’s One Palm project that sold for Dh74 million in May. This is the most expensive property transaction in Dubai so far in 2019.

In terms of volume, Palm Jumeirah accounted for the most luxury home sales (55) in H1 2019, almost double the deals in H1 2018, followed by Dubai Hills Estate (29), Downtown Dubai (28), MBR City (22), Emirates Hills (17) and Jumeirah Golf Estates (12).

Dubai’s luxury homes are still very affordable compared with their counterparts in leading global cities such as London, New York, Paris and Singapore. This could be the reason for the revival of buyer interest in Dubai’s prime housing market.

Across the 10 cities surveyed for Knight Frank’s Wealth Report, Dubai prime properties are most affordable amongst those analysed, with an average price of $625 per sq ft, just 15 percent of the average price in Hong Kong. This means that buyers are able to acquire prime projects in Dubai at values that are relatively lower, compared to other key global cities.

In a breakdown based on the unit specification, 65 luxury apartments were sold in H1 2019, 78 ready prime villas/townhouses and 51 off-plan luxury villas.

“Prices in the luxury market were inflated over the past few years, therefore as prices declined, particularly over the last year, luxury properties have become very attractive, especially to foreign investors,” said Lynnette Abad, director of Data & Research, Property Finder.

On the Palm Jumeirah, there was renewed buyer interest for apartments on the Crescent (16 deals) and villas on the Frond (24 deals). In Downtown Dubai, apartments in the Opera District soaked up majority of buyer interest, while multiple standalone apartment projects also registered healthy sales. Emaar’s Il Primo tower in Opera District has seen robust sales in the luxury segment.

Meanwhile in MBR City, the villas and mansions in District One clocked healthy sales (16) on the secondary market while Sobha Hartland accounted for a few off-plan villa sales.

In Jumeirah Golf Estates, Sienna Lakes villas registered healthy interest in the secondary luxury sales market. In other prime home transactions, there was good buyer interest for Al Barari villas, Bulgari Resort & Residences, apartments in Volante Tower in Business Bay, Dubai Creek Harbour and Le Reve in Dubai Marina. – TradeArabia News Service

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