Dubai 2016 realty deals fall slightly

In all, Dh258b worth of transactions were done in 2016 against Dh267b

There was enough going on in Dubai’s freehold zones and elsewhere in the city for overall real estate transactions in 2016 to total Dh259 billion, just shy of the Dh267 billion during the year before, according to official data from Dubai Land Department.

It is a relative strong showing given that by mid-2016, it was felt among industry sources that the level of buying activity would tail off significantly further given that the market was still in a severe corrective phase. But the last six months, especially from September onwards, showed investors making a return in sizable enough numbers.

The leasing marketplace saw over 410,000 contracts being entered, both for residential and commercial properties.

Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa and the areas around it recorded the highest combined value for property sales – it secured more than Dh7 billion from 2,097 transactions. In second place was Dubai Marina area, which from its 2,937 transactions pulled in Dh6.3 billion. Business Bay was in third place with Dh6.2 billion.

But in terms of volumes, Business Bay was the clear winner, overseeing 3,508 property deals during the 12 months. In terms of plot sales, the Seeh Shuaib was as the most popular with investors, with a combined value of Dh3 billion from 1,684 transactions. It was followed by Al Yafra 3, Al Yafra 2, Al Hebeya 3 and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Gardens.

The Land Department report shows that 60,595 transactions took place to make up the Dh259 billion. Of these, more than 41,776 deals were from sales (for Dh103 billion) while 15,000 mortgage-based transactions totalled Dh128 billion. (In value terms, commercial land (already built on) had the highest share, representing 30 per cent, of the total value secured by transactions in 2016.)