Sales of completed residential units in Dubai continued to show signs of picking up in July as more buyers came into the market following the easing of coronavirus restrictions.

The volume of ready home sales last month went up by 35 percent compared to the transactions recorded in June, according to ValuStrat’s latest figures.

“The trend of improving ready home sales activity continued,” the Middle East consultancy firm said in a report released on Monday.

The property market hit a massive slump when governments around the world imposed lockdowns to contain the spread of coronavirus. In Dubai, the impact was felt during the second half of March, when everyone was advised to stay at home and developers put on hold new project launches.

The decline in demand led to a 42 percent fall in off-plan property transactions and 10 percent drop in residential capital values  during the period.

Improvement

Developers in Dubai had earlier said that buyers have returned to the market since restrictions started to ease. In June alone, Nakheel reported selling dozens of homes to buyers in the UAE in just a few months.

In its latest report, ValuStrat said there has indeed been an improvement in the uptake of properties in Dubai, but buyers were mainly snapping up ready homes, or units that are ready to move into.

The sales of off-plan units, however, remained subdued, registering a 32 percent decline in July compared to June.

Market still down

So, overall — despite improving ready home sales — the total residential property sales for July were still down 50 percent compared to the same period last year.

ValuStrat explained that there were still fewer villa and apartment developments being launched into the market and this has contributed to the decline in overall transactions.

“Due to reduced project launches by developers, July’s off-plan home sales declined 32 percent when compared to June,” ValuStrat said.

Areas popular among buyers

For those who have acquired new properties that are yet to be completed, the most appealing locations are Jumeirah Village, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Creek Harbour and Business Bay.

Among the buyers of units that are ready to occupy, the most popular locations are Town Square, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Village and Al Furjan.