Dubai saw record number of homes being sold during first quarter: CBRE

Gulf Today Report

Dubai's housing market has had its best-ever start to the year, driven by high demand from local residents and greater inflows from overseas buyers including Russians, according to a CBRE report, totalling up to 19,000 transactions in the first months of the year, which is the highest total ever recorded in the first quarter.

The only other period that saw higher transaction volumes was in the second and third quarters of 2009, when the ownership of about 33,000 and 23,000 properties were changed hands, respectively, said Taimur Khan, head of research at CBRE.

The Russians were considered among the top buyers of luxury homes in the emirate, to be among the top 10 nationalities investing in Dubai real estate.

CBRE figures showed an average house price increase of 11.3% in the 12 months to March, while apartment prices increased by 10% on average, while villas and townhouse prices increased by 20.2%, which is a byproduct of the “Covid-19” pandemic.

The dynamics of working from home has prompted many apartment dwellers to seek more space.

The area around the world's tallest tower, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay recorded the highest average prices overall.

Villas on the island of Palm Jumeirah, which are famous for the wealthy, recorded the highest average monthly price in March.

Despite the recent rise, prices are still well below their 2014 peak, with the average square foot price for an apartment in Dubai averaging Dhs1,098 ($299).

Rents rose by an average of 13.1 per cent across the city, according to the report, with wealthier neighborhoods such as Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Arabian Ranches seeing the largest monthly price increase in March.