There are no signs of a slowdown in the Dubai property market, as new launches, especially those by big developers, are still selling like hotcakes.
Projects launched by reputed local developers that enjoy a good track record of delivering on-time and quality products are being sold within hours. In the meantime, new developers are joining the frenzy and managing to sell in weeks, if not days.
The strong demand for properties from established developers is mainly due to trust in the timely and quality delivery of projects that give buyers good capital appreciation and double-digit rental income as well. New developers are benefitting from the lower prices and higher returns that the Dubai property market offers compared to other major cities around the world.
The new developers are cashing in on ‘Brand Dubai’, which assures buyers that their units will be handed over, thanks to the authorities’ strict monitoring of the projects during the construction phase.
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2025 looks strong
This has given many developers confidence that the market will not slow down in the second half of 2024 and will remain strong in 2025 as well.
“Dubai has positioned itself as a global city. Dubai has become one of the cities that guarantees security and growth. There is energy and momentum in the market. There is entrepreneurship. The Golden Visa initiative has done incredibly well, attracting so many people who had never considered buying property in Dubai. They bought it for the sake of residency and mental peace.
“I don’t see the Dubai market slowing down. It will continue to grow at a good pace because it has become today a global city. Relative to global cities like London, Paris, Hong Kong and New York, Dubai is still extremely affordable compared to prices in those cities,” Said Amira Sajwani, managing director of Damac Properties.
She added that 2025 also looks strong for the Dubai property market.
The largest private developer in Dubai sold 600 units in its Dh1.2-billion Violet Phase 3 project in just a few hours, indicating that the demand is still strong and there are no signs of slowdown.
New project launches across the city have been buoyant during the January-August period. So far this year, Dubai has seen more than 93,000 new units launched across various sub-markets. This is the highest number of units launched in the city’s development history.
Big local developers such as Emaar Properties, Nakheel, Damac Properties, Sobha Group, Samana Developers and Danube Properties have been Dubai’s top suppliers of new properties.
In September, Samana Developers sold out its Dh660 million debut waterfront property developments Ocean Pearl 1 and Samana Ocean Pearl 2 within just two hours of their launch. Located on Dubai Islands, each unit in the project – which consists of one-, two, and three-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom penthouses – is equipped with a private pool.
“Samana Ocean Pearl projects are our first waterfront developments on Dubai Islands. We have buyers from all over the world, mainly Europe, asking for more than one unit which is a sharp demand for our waterfront property assets in one of the world’s most popular real estate hotspots,” said Imran Farooq, CEO of Samana Developers.
It has purchased more plots on the Dubai Islands and planned to unveil new projects to meet the demand for waterfront properties in the coming days.
In May, Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties sold out the first two phases of its ‘Athlon’ project in Dubai within 48 hours of launch, generating Dh4.1 billion in sales.
Among the new developers, Majid Developments – which launched its first project in Dubai in September – said 40 per cent of its project had already been sold before the launch, which shows that there is a strong appetite from residents and investors who want to invest and capitalize on strong capital and rental returns.
Buyers’ diversity
Interestingly, most of the developers – both local and new entrants – claim that many buyers are now British and other European investors, replacing their Asian peers in some of the projects.
The UAE’s Golden Visa has also been a major attraction for property buyers. Lately, developers have been attracting buyers with three Golden Visas.
According to Emirates NBD Research released in September, the emirate has seen overall units sold year-to-date reach 104,250, only 14,000 units short of the total transactions recorded in 2023. It anticipated activity levels to remain relatively stable for the remainder of the year, setting a record for the highest number of residential units sold across the city.