HIGH-END COMMUNITIES IN DUBAI ARE ON TREND AS BUYERS SEEK BARGAINS
▶ Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai are two of the top-searched apartment communities this year, according to a report from Dubizzle
Upscale Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai are among the top-five most searched apartment communities for buyers this year as softening prices, particularly in prime neighbourhoods, entice potential investors.
Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Jumeirah Village Circle and Business Bay are the other three areas included in the five most-searched communities for Dubai apartments for sale as real estate asking prices on average in these five communities fell 8 per cent year-on-year, classifieds portal Dubizzle said in a report released yesterday.
The Villa, The Akoya Oxygen and Mudon were the topsearched villa for sale communities in Dubai, along with more established upmarket communities such as Arabian Ranches and Palm Jumeirah, Dubizzle said.
“Overall, we have seen a substantial increase in users searching for properties for sale in 2018 year-to-date … as the softening real estate market continues to provide an investment opportunity that was not always available to many,” said Samer Abdin, general manager of Dubizzle Property.
“Our data highlights this is a particular trend in the prime areas such as Palm Jumeirah, which was not even among the top five searched communities in 2017.”
The UAE property market slowed down during the threeyear oil slump, which led to cutbacks in government and consumer spending and affected sales and rental prices. With the market forecast to decline further in 2018, albeit at a slower pace, the Government has sought to encourage investment.
The launch of the real estate self-transaction portal by the Dubai Land Department slated for completion in 2020, as well as the introduction of emortgages, will make transactions faster and easier while policy reforms such as the retirement visa initiative will also drive demand for properties and lure further investment to the UAE, Mr Abdin said.
In terms of apartments, Dubai Marina accounted for 36 per cent of searches, Jumeirah Lakes Towers for 21 per cent and Jumeirah Village Circle for 17 per cent. Downtown Dubai made up 13 per cent of total searches while Business Bay counted 12 per cent of apartment searches.
Expat and investor favourite Dubai Marina remained relatively unchanged, with prices dropping an average of 1 per cent across one-to three-bedroom apartments.
The demand for three-bedroom apartments, however, pushed the asking sale price up by 5 per cent to Dh1,647 per square foot as of the third quarter. However, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in the same area decreases of 3 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, according to the report.
Downtown Dubai remains the highest valued area for apartments, with an average asking price of Dh2,088 per sq ft. However, asking prices declined an average 12 per cent year-on-year across one to three-bedroom apartments. Jumeirah Lakes Towers also experienced an average of 12 per cent decrease in asking sale prices, while Jumeirah Village Circle and Business Bay experienced a decline of 6 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.
Dubizzle Property, which has more than 130,000 listings at any given time and registers 100,000-plus daily visits, said The Villa was the mostsearched development for villas for sale, accounting for 23 per cent of total searches, with Arabian Ranches, the Palm Jumeirah, Akoya Oxygen and Mudon making up 21, 20, 18 and 17 per cent, respectively.
The Palm Jumeirah moved into the top five searched villa communities, reflecting a trend that softening purchase prices are encouraging residents to consider higher-end communities. The new development in Dubailand, Mudon, also entered the top searched communities, signifying the effect of off-plan developments on boosting the market, according to the Dubizzle report.