The rich find a haven in Dubai

New tourist and remote work visas help UAE

The wealthiest home buyers fleeing virus lockdowns for Dubai are still finding bargains aplenty, turning March into the busiest month ever for the emirate's top-end residential properties.

A record 84 properties, each worth 10 million dirhams ($2.7 million) or more, changed hands last month, according to data from real estate consultant Property Monitor. In total, Dubai's priciest homes fetched 1.7 billion dirhams in March.

The luxury end of the market has come alive in a city that became a haven for wealthy Europeans escaping repeated lockdowns at home and for others drawn by the ease of getting vaccinated from

Covid-19. The Middle East's business and tourism hub provided an additional lure after a property downturn that started six years ago shaved more than a third off values.

"We've seen sentiment shift quite significantly and prices are increasing across the board now," said Taimur Khan, head of research at Knight Frank in Dubai. "On the top end of the market, it's mostly European money from investors seeking assets in dollar-linked economies."

The UAE introduced new visas for tourists and approved a new remote work visa that enables employees from all over the world to live and operate from the emirates. Buying a property is also one of the fastest ways of getting a residency permit in Dubai.

"Dubai is being seen as a place that's relatively safe and less restrictive than many others," said Zhann Jochinke, chief operating officer at Property Monitor. "Government initiatives aiming to drive more investments and people into Dubai are also helping improve sentiment on the long term prospects for the market."

Dubai's second-most expensive property was also sold in March. One 100 Palm, a mansion on the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah, fetched 111.25 million dirhams. The buyer is a Swiss family that resides in Monaco and intends to use the villa for short-term rentals, according to Luxhabitat Sotheby's International Realty, which was one of the brokers involved in the deal.

On average, home prices climbed 7.5 per cent since November.