A review by W Capital, the leading Dubai real estate brokerage, showed that 2023 real estate performance in Dubai was exceptional, as sales exceeded about Dhs400 billion for the first time, in addition to making the largest land and apartment sales deals.

“The real estate market in Dubai is on an upward trajectory since recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, rising from Dhs69.8 billion in 2020, to Dhs149 billion in 2021, then to Dhs265.5 billion in 2022, and finally to Dhs401 billion last year,” said Real estate expert Walid Al Zarooni, W Capital CEO.

Al Zarooni added that these exceptional numbers from Dubai Land Department (DLD), show that real estate sales in Dubai multiplied by about 5 folds last year, compared to 2020. This is an indication of the strong and continuous momentum within the market and the status of Dubai real estate that it has reached globally as the best city to live and work.

He revealed that 2023 transactions increased by more than 32% on an annual basis to about 129.000 sales transactions, which is the highest ever, compared to 97.450 sales transactions in 2022.

Walid Al Zarooni pointed out that the value of real estate transactions (sales-mortgages-gifts) increased in 2023 by about 5% to Dhs554.7 billion, compared to Dhs528 billion in the previous year, exceeding the level of half a trillion dirhams for the second time in a row. The total 2023 real estate transactions also increased by more than 38% on an annual basis to 169,720 real estate transactions, compared to 122,658 transactions in 2022.

He explained that the value of mortgages amounted to Dhs121 billion with 33,280 deals, while gifts values topped Dhs32.65 billion with 7,460 deals.

Best quarterly sales ever: During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Dubai real estate sector achieved the highest quarterly sales ever, with more than Dhs112.6 billion recorded, distributed over more than 31,250 transactions.

Thus, the value of real estate sales recorded in Dubai during the three months ending in December 2023, increased by 3.3% on a quarterly basis, compared to sales recorded in the third quarter of the same year by Dhs109 billion.

An exceptional month: According to DLD data, November was the best month of the year in terms of sales value, exceeding Dhs42 billion, the highest monthly value of real estate sales deals reaching 12,150, followed by October with Dhs39.2 billion, through 11,910 deals, then September with Dhs37.8 billion through 13,595 deals, then July, with sales amounting to Dhs37.6 billion through 11,120 deals.

Top 10 land deals: The largest land sale deal in terms of value and area since the beginning of this year came in the ‘Maqtara’ area, for residential purposes, with a value of Dhs3.87 billion on an area of 203 million square feet, at 19 dirhams per foot.

The second was the deal of a plot of land for commercial purposes, also in the ‘Yalabs 5’ area, at a price of Dhs2.427 billion, with an area of 83.86 million square feet, at a price of 28.94 dirhams per foot.

The third was a plot of land for residential purposes, also in the ‘Al Sufouh 2’ area, at a value of Dhs1.834 billion, with an area of 2.75 million square feet, at a price of 666.2 dirhams per foot.

Also, a deal to sell land for residential purposes in the ‘Al Sufouh 2’ area came in fourth place, with a value of Dhs630.79 million , with an area of 33.108 million square feet, at a price of 19.05 dirhams per foot.

The fifth was a deal to sell land for commercial purposes in the Dubai Marina area, valued at Dhs622.9 million, with an area of 114.4 thousand square feet, at a price of 5,444 dirhams per square foot.

The deal to sell land for commercial purposes in the ‘Zabeel II’ area came sixth, with a total price of Dhs 600 million, for an area of 138.46 thousand square feet, at a price of 4,333 dirhams per square foot.

The “Business Bay” area deal to sell land for residential purposes was the seventh, at a value of Dhs456.25 million, with an area of 56,937 thousand square feet, at a price of 8,013 dirhams per square foot.

In eighth place was a deal to sell land for residential purposes in the Al Wasl area, at a value of Dhs397 million, for an area of about 76.75 thousand square feet, at a price of 5,173 dirhams per square foot.

The ninth deal was the sale of a plot of land for residential purposes in the Dubai Water Canal area, with a total value of Dhs368.73 million, with an area of 100,000 square feet, at 3,682 dirhams per foot.

The last was the sale of a plot of land for residential purposes in Dubai Marina, valued at Dhs360, with an area of 37,677 thousand square feet, at 9,544 dirhams per square foot.

Top 10 apartment deals: At the top of the list was the deal to sell a residential apartment in Marsa Al Arab at Dhs420 million, with an area of 27,143 thousand square feet, at a price of 15,473 dirhams per foot.

Also in the Marsa Al Arab area, the second largest residential apartment sale deal valued at Dhs268 million, with an area of 19.26 thousand square feet, at a price of 14,846 dirhams per foot.

In third place was the sale of an apartment in Dubai Marina, valued at Dhs154 million, with an area of 351,000 square feet, at a price of 440 dirhams per square foot.

The fourth was a residential apartment sale deal in the Al Jazeera 2 area for Dhs143 million, with an area of 11.65 thousand square feet, at a price of 12,312 dirhams per foot.

In fifth place was the sale of a hotel apartment in the Business Bay area, valued at Dhs125 million, with an area of 269 thousand square feet, at a price of 464 dirhams per square foot.

A deal concluded to sell a residential apartment in the Jazira 2 area for a value of Dhs112 million was the sixth on the list, with an area of 11,654 thousand square feet, at a price of 9,609 dirhams per foot.

In seventh place was the sale of a hotel apartment in the “Marsa Al Arab” area, valued at Dhs76.5 million, with an area of 4,786 square feet, at a price of 15,984 dirhams per foot.

The eighth was the sale deal of an office apartment in Burj Khalifa, valued at Dhs49.4 million, with an area of 8,806 square feet, at a price of 5,614 dirhams per foot.

In ninth place was the deal to sell a hotel apartment in Jumeirah Beach Residence, worth Dhs47.5 million, with an area of 5,010 square feet, at a price of 9,480 dirhams per foot.

The last on the list was the deal to sell a commercial unit in Burj Khalifa, worth Dhs44.5 million.

Dubai real estate prospects in 2024

Walid Al Zarooni expected that the historical momentum will continue this year after the significant growth in the year 2023, while the real estate sector in Dubai is approaching the fourth year of successive price increases in the third market cycle. It will also be a matter of time to know whether the sector make new record numbers in the new year, whether or not this currently recorded number is broken, as demand is expected to continue to grow and prices to rise, making the Dubai real estate market fertile environment for investments.

The CEO said that these unprecedented sales numbers embody the strength of growth in luxury real estate, where Dubai holds the global lead, and in the medium-sized real estate sector and commercial and hotel units.

Walid Al Zarooni stated that Dubai provides a legislative frame that takes into account the rights of everyone, maintains the discipline of citizens and foreigners alike without discrimination, as well as speedy litigation, which increases investors’ confidence and motivates them to pursue permanent residency. Dubai also apply the best practices and legislation within the real estate market, which regulates the operations of property ownership, off-plan sales, or rentals.

Al Zarooni stressed that the most recent review of the prospects for real estate sales in Dubai indicate that the main residential real estate markets in may remain in the focus of attention of investors during the year 2024, as they remain a destination for investors wishing to obtain affordable investment opportunities with good, long-term investment returns.