Dubai records $1.8bln residential real estate deals in October

October has emerged as a strong month for Dubai's residential real estate with 3,395 property sales transactions worth AED6.93 billion ($1.8 billion), thus recording a 37.2% jump in the off-plan segment and 62.8% in the secondary segment, This brings the year-to-date total to 27,815 sales transactions worth AED 57.43 billion ($15.6 billion), according to Dubai’s official sales price index Mo’asher.

This remained a record-breaking month for secondary/ready villas/townhouses with 665 unit transfers 1013 villas/townhouses and a total of 2,031 apartments were transferred in October, stated the index, launched by Dubai Land Department (DLD) in cooperation with Property Finder.

The base year for Mo’asher is 2012 and the base month for the monthly index is January 2012, with the base quarter for the quarterly index being Q1 2012.

Based on Property Finder’s data, 665 secondary or ready to move in villas/townhouses were transferred in October, up 7.2% over September with 605 transactions.

The past four months had the highest number of transactions for villas/townhouses consistently, with each month being at an all-time high and the record broken the very next month. This consistent growth started after May, which had 110 transactions and has since grown by over 500%, it stated.

DLD Director of the Real Estate Studies & Research Department Latifa Ibrahim Ahmed said: "We are proud to issue this index every month and provide it to researchers and those interested in the real estate market such as developers and investors. It is designed to give a comprehensive and transparent view of the market movement in general."

"Among the most important data that can be obtained this month is the emergence of strong signs of recovery in the market and its return to normal paths across the various segments of real estate units, especially through the demand for luxury units, and the registration of sustainable growth month after month,"

"Overall, this means that the market will enter the new year strongly, especially if we take into account the growing momentum of preparations for Expo Dubai," .

Lynnette Abad, Director of Research & Data for Property Finder, pointed out that the prices for villas/townhouses became more affordable over the years making it an extremely attractive option for real estate investors.

"Since the pandemic started, many started to spend more time in their homes. This prompted a new trend and people started to want more space and outside spaces for their family. People also started to migrate away from densely populated city centres and towards the suburbs. All of this has led to all-time high transaction volumes in Dubai for villas/townhouses over the past few months," he added.

According to her, Dubai's overall index remained stable at 1.092. The Dubai apartment and villa/townhouse index remained steady as well due to more affordable units coming into the ready market.

The most popular areas for secondary (ready) villas/townhouses in October 2020 were Nad Al Sheba (11.8%), Town Square (7.8%), International City (6.7%), Arabian Ranches (6.4%) and Dubai Hills Estate (5.9%). 39% of the transactions were for 4-bedroom units, 34.7% for 3-bedroom units and 14.8% for 5-bedroom units.

Overall for this month, 1013 villas/townhouses were transferred in both the off plan and secondary market. A total of 2,031 apartments were transferred with 1,128 in the secondary market and 903 in the off plan market.

Another highlight for October was the sale of 11 luxury apartments over three projects on Palm Jumeirah and Downtown worth over AED 15 million each for a total of AED 220.7million. The most expensive apartment was sold for AED 30 million in One at Palm Jumeirah.

All these units were north of 5,000 sq ft and the largest touching 15,000 sq ft in The W residences worth AED 22.73 million.