Dubai developers wary about new launches

dubai — The Dubai residential market witnessed solid growth in off-plan sales transactions during the last quarter of 2017. According to a report by real estate consultancy CBRE, off-plan sales accounted for more than 65 per cent of total sales transactions for 2017, an increase of approximately 56 per cent in the number of transactions and 44 per cent in terms of total value, as compared to 2016. “The sales market has witnessed an improvement in transaction numbers during 2017, with offplan properties remaining favourable among investors, underlining the speculative nature of the local market,” said Mat Green, head of research and consulting UAE, CBRE Middle East.

“Business Bay, Jumeirah Village Circle and Downtown Dubai continued to dominate the market, as all three districts recorded more

business bay, Jumeirah Village Circle and downtown continue to dominate the dubai market Mat Green, head of research and consulting UAE, CBRE ME

than 2,000 off-plan transactions for the year,” commented Green.

In light of the continued slowdown in the residential market, caution among prospective developers and owners is expected to heighten, and developers are likely to be more guarded in their development and sale decisions. While residential sales prices entered into a period of decline during 2015, the rate of decline for Q4 2017 has actually been negligible, at just 0.5 per cent from the last quarter.