The National - News

Dubai completes Dh162bn of property deals this year

- SARAH TOWNSEND

A total of Dh162 billion ($44bn) worth of real estate transactio­ns were signed in the first nine months of 2018, with GCC and Indian investors accounting for the bulk of the deals, the Dubai Land Department said.

“As we approach the end of 2018, we expect the market to reveal additional investment advantages, especially in the presence of competitio­n among investors, and the incentives announced by the Dubai Government to attract capital,” said Sultan Butti bin Mejren, director general of DLD.

“This, along with the completion of some infrastruc­ture projects to support preparatio­ns for Expo 2020, helps Dubai’s real estate horizon to broaden, increasing demand for residentia­l units, commercial spaces and land.”

DLD’s Department of Real Estates Studies & Research recorded 39,802 transactio­ns in the nine months to the end of September, of which Dh56.6bn worth were real estate sales.

In addition Dh86bn were mortgage transactio­ns and Dh19.3bn were “other” transactio­ns on which the DLD did not provide further detail.

Dubai received 27,174 investment­s through 21,605 investors of 163 nationalit­ies, the department said.

Emiratis and Indians topped the list, with the former recording 4,112 investment­s worth Dh9.4bn out of the approximat­ely Dh50bn investment deals, while the latter recorded 4,676 Dh8.6bn worth of investment­s.

Saudis were third in the list of investors by total deal value, accounting for 1,882 investment­s worth Dh3bn, followed by Pakistanis with 1,851 deals worth Dh2.3bn and UK citizens with 1,761 investment­s worth more than Dh3.4bn. The top 10 list also included investors from China, Egypt, Jordan, Canada and Russia.

Overall, GCC nationals accounted for Dh13.7bn of the total, and 6,681 transactio­ns.

“The diversific­ation of the investor base reflects market attractive­ness and represents a guaranteed sustainabl­e growth,” Mr bin Mejren said.

“The positive repercussi­ons [of these deals] will continue to resonate in the short and long term by introducin­g new sales categories for either personal use or for investing.”

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