TopDubaiProperty.com

24 MAR 2016

Dubai’s property market is in the midst of a supply-to-demand imbalance.

That’s the view of one of the emirate’s biggest property developers, who has reported falls in the number of available units for sale at a time when Dubai’s population is growing by 7% each year.

While Dubai’s rental sector is currently going from strength to strength, with yields reaching highs of 10% in some areas of the city in January, property price growth has been less buoyant. This may have instigated a slowdown in the number of new developments in the construction pipeline, but Allsopp & Allsopp now believes that this is pushing supply volumes below demand levels.

“We are already beginning to see demand outstrip supply as the availability of listed properties for sale continues to decrease,” states Lewis Allsopp, CEO of Allsopp & Allsopp. “Dubai’s year-on-year population growth of 7% requires at least 75,000 new properties coming online each year. New developments becoming available is essential to support the growing population.”

Property shortages will naturally impact on real estate values when demand remains strong. Many market analysts believe that Dubai’s property sector will witness the start of a new growth curve by the end of 2016.

Expo 2020 will bring at least 25 million visitors and 277,000 new jobs to Dubai in the coming years, further underlining the need for new investment in the city’s property sector.

26 Feb 2016

According to Dawn News, Pakistanis purchased 6,106 properties during 2015 as compared to 5,079 units last year, an increase of 20 per cent, Dubai Land Department (DLD) figures showed on Thursday.

Around AED 8 billion ($2.178bn) worth of properties were purchased by Pakistanis during the year as compared to AED 7.588bn ($2.066bn) last year, up 5.43pc.

Media statements that the government was investigating Pakistani investments in Dubai property market seemed ineffective due to the rise in purchases.According to the DLD’s report, the overall real-estate investment exceeded AED 135bn in 2015 (55,928 investors) as compared to around AED 109bn (41,715 investors) a year ago.Pakistanis have invested AED 24bn in Dubai property market since 2013.

Some brokers were surprised with the trend as they believed that the money flow from overseas (particularly from Dubai) was pushing up the real estate in Pakistan.

24 FEB 2016

The average cost of renting a Dubai apartment increased by 3% in January.Apartment rents in Dubai increased by 3% compared to December, but amounts varied across property types, the latest data shows.Average rents reached an annual rate of AED 138,000 overall with the market seeing some adjustments, according to the latest report from property portal Bayut.

There was also a noted improvement in yields for property investors, reaching an average of just over 6% but these do vary according to property type, location and quality, with some reaching up to 10%.Yields improved across all apartment types. Studios offered average yields of 7.2%, one-bedroom apartment 6.4%, two-bedroom apartments 5.7%, three-bedroom apartments 5.3% and four-bedroom apartments 3.55%.Studio apartments continue to offer strong yields due to the limited supply found in Dubai, and with many expats and young professionals living within the emirate, demand remains high.

The Bayut.com report added: “Dubai will continue to be the regional business and innovation hub and will keep attracting human capital from across the world, helping its realty sectors with a constant demand and impetus to keep on building.”Dubai Marina remained the most popular location for renting apartments in Dubai, followed by Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Bur Dubai, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay.Add News Story here

22 FEB 2016

AED 68 billion was spent on real estate in the emirate between the 1st January and 22nd February, according to figures from the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Although yields as high as 9% currently make Dubai one of the best cities for rental returns, capital growth is relatively slow at present.

But this has done little to quell the huge appetite for Dubai real estate, with the DLD expecting total sales to “touch” AED 300 billion by the end of 2016.

“Investors are buying into the property market and we can see that with registration of Dh68 billion worth of deals,” said DLD Director-General, Sultan Butti Bin Mejren. “There are a lot of investors with money who have trust in Dubai.

A new report released last week by KPMG told investors in Dubai to expect the start of a new growth curve for property prices in 2017, as the city ramps up preparations to host the World Expo in 2020. 25 million global visitors are expected to visit Dubai, while 277,000 new jobs are estimated to be created by Expo 2020, economic growth that is anticipated to be felt in the city’s property market.

15th FEB 2016

Property investors should be prepared for a new growth curve to start in Dubai in 2017.

That’s the message from consultancy KPMG, given in its new Building Confidence report. It points to the economic prospects of Expo 2020 and the imbalance of supply with demand for high-quality real estate as just two drivers of the growth the city can expect next year.

New government regulations, introduced following the global financial crisis, continue to correct Dubai’s property sector. Steady performance over the next 12 months is expected as Dubai’s property sector lays the foundations of sustainability that will protect its long-term investment credentials.

But with the city on the brink of huge economic growth driven by the global exhibition in four years’ time, investors can expect the start of a new cycle of strong returns from their Dubai real estate assets to begin next year. The report said: “With effective regulations in place and the infrastructure investment that is committed as part of Expo 2020, we should see an upturn in the real estate industry in 2017.”

Expo 2020 is expected to entice at least 25 million visitors from around the world to Dubai and create an estimated 277,000 new jobs before and after the event.

12th Feb. 2016

Dubai’s most desirable property locations have been revealed – and Dubai Marina tops the list for both homes for sale and rental accommodation.

Over 68 million searches alone were made for apartments to rent in the Marina, according to the annual Dubizzle property report. One-bedroom apartments were the most sought after properties from prospective buyers and tenants, as the Marina cements its place as one of the most successful developments in the city.In the rental market, apartments in International City received 47 million searches, followed by 42 million for real estate in Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT).

Rising demand in the Burj Khalifa District was also reflected in the report, with commercial units in Business Bay and one-bedroom apartments in Downtown making up the top five spots for rental properties.Both Business Bay and Downtown also made the top five for locations in which to buy property in Dubai, with the latter receiving 15 million searches, along with JLT and Jumeirah Village Circle.The publication of the report comes at a time when appetite for property investment in Dubai is at its highest for a number of years.AED 135 billion was invested in the city’s real estate market by investors from 150 countries around the world in 2015.

Key to this confidence has been the performance of the rental market, where yields of between 7% and 9% are outperforming those currently found in many other key global cities around the world. Furthermore, estimated capital growth of between 35% and 50% in Dubai’s key districts as a result of Expo 2020 has seen an increase in investors looking to secure their assets in the city now before this anticipated growth curve for the highest returns.dd News Story here

12th August, 2015

The new figures from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) show demand for the asset remains high, with 19,848 investors from 142 countries purchasing property in the emirate.

A breakdown of the report reveals that GCC nationals continue to represent the highest proportion of investors, with almost 17 billion AED spent. Emiratis contributed the highest amount at 11.4 billion AED. A further 2,756 investors from 16 Arab countries purchased property worth 6 billion AED in the six months from January to June.

DLD Director General Sultan Butti Bin Mejren said: “Based on the strong performance of the market, we fully anticipate that the momentum will be continued throughout the next five years as we lead up to Expo 2020, the biggest marketing event in the world.

“The diversity in investors’ nationalities revealed by the report shows that the Dubai market is international and that investor confidence is increasingly being cemented.”

Outside the GCC, Indians bought the most Dubai property, investing 7.8 billion AED, while British investors continue to value the potential of the emirate’s real estate, spending just short of £5 billion.

Bin Mejren added that the world’s financial rating agencies are “very optimistic” about the United Arab Emirates’ economic future, as all sectors are exhibiting excellent growth rates year on year.

27th July, 2015


The strength of the Dubai property market has helped create some of the youngest millionaires in the world. The average age of a UAE millionaire is much lower than the global average and the number of ultra-rich youngsters has increased significantly over the past seven years. It is no coincidence that the rise of this high-net worth generation has coincided with several years of sustained growth in the country’s property market. Dubai property investment in particular has been very profitable, with investors enjoying annual returns of over 20% between 2013 and 2014.

The latest statistics published in New World Wealth’s ‘The United Arab Emirates 2014 Wealth Report’ reveal one in every 130 people living in the UAE is either a high-net worth individual (HNWI) or a millionaire. Almost three-quarters of the country’s HNWIs live in Dubai, but there are also significant amounts of young millionaires living in both Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

According to the report, since 2007, the number of UAE millionaires has increased by 59% and the small country now has the seconded largest millionaire market in the whole Middle East, behind Turkey, which has 65 million more people. At the end of last year, there were approximately 72,100 millionaires residing in the UAE and they had a combined wealth of $305 billion (£207 billion). This number is expected to rise by 15% to 82,600 by 2017.

The portfolio make-up of these millionaires shows the influence of Dubai property. Real estate investments comprise 22% of their wealth, behind more common assets such as cash and business interests. Equities and alternatives only made up 17% and 6% respectively.


 

July 4th, 2015

Investors and homeowners purchased 64 billion AED (£11.16 billion) worth of Dubai property in the first quarter of 2015.

The figures from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) reveal 24 billion AED of this was through property and land sales, while the remaining 37 billion AED accounts for new mortgages for property transactions.

The areas of the emirate that saw the most purchasing activity were the ever-popular Dubai Marina and Business Bay, where 1,202 units were sold for a combined total of 1.84 billion AED.

DLD said that 11 billion AED of the sales were for buildings and individual units – 8.4 billion AED of which was residential units, Dh2.2bn was for business units and the remainder for buildings. The most popular areas for unit sales were Business Bay, where 1,202 units were sold for a combined Dh1.84bn, and Dubai Marina.

GCC investors spent 9 billion AED of the 24 billion AED worth of land and property bought, with almost two-thirds of this money coming from Emiratis and 1.9 billion AED invested by Saudis.

Indian purchasers secured 3 billion AED worth of properties, while British buyers retained their appetite for Dubai property, spending almost 2 billion AED. Pakistanis, Iranian and Russian buyers also featured in the five nationalities of non-Arab investors.

DLD Director General Sultan Butti bin Mejren said: “The figures in this report are showing a well-established trust in our real estate market.”

A recent report from JLL on the Dubai property market in the first quarter shows that investors earned 7% annual growth on apartment assets, while villa prices increased by 6%.

June 5th, 2015

It’s official – property in Dubai is among the highest yielding real estate in the world for investors.

Data from the latest Global Property Guide, which closely analyses the property price performance in some of the world’s leading economic destinations, has found that gross rental yields in Dubai are higher than many rival world cities.

Returns from large to small apartments range from 5.87% and 7.21%. In comparison, gross rental yields in Hong Kong average 2.82%, in Singapore 2.83%, and range between 2.72% and 3.20% in London.

These figures demonstrate why investors have been keen to purchase substantially in Dubai so far in 2015, with 64 billion AED (£11.5 billion) invested in the first quarter of the year.

But with continued and ongoing economic projects taking place in the emirate, many experts are forecasting further strong performance for the local rental market. Global bond credit analyst Moody’s Investors Service, for example, believe that the Dubai government’s plans to encourage increased foreign investment in a number of sectors through new infrastructure will help support the market over the next five years.

One of the key projects that is likely to impact on the market is Expo 2020, which is set to create over 277,000 new jobs in the run up to the event.

May 16th, 2015

Property and financial analysts in Dubai have recorded strong performance in the property market in the emirate and are tipping prices and rental rates to grow throughout the rest of 2015.

Data from ReidIn has found that rental prices in Dubai are currently 5.4% higher year-on-year, with apartment rates specifically growing 6.3% annually. In addition, residential property prices in the region are up 1.5% year-on-year.

Analysts from banking group Emirates NBD believe that a majority of households in Dubai are expecting rents and real estate prices to continue to rise. Although growth is expected to be at a slower rate than seen in previous years, sustained government capital expenditure, jobs growth and an increasing population are just some of the reasons why experts in the region remain confident.

Additionally, the analysts also believe that further signs of a weakening dollar, or of rising oil prices, could trigger business confidence and, consequently, boost the property market later in the year.

Although some property consultancy firms have been painting a bleaker picture for the market in recent days, sustained non-oil growth and a growing population (the UN expects UAE’s urban population to grow by 2.3% annually) is likely to maintain the demand for Dubai property domestically.

April 27th, 2015

Britons were amongst the largest group of foreign investors in Dubai property in the first quarter of 2015, as leading officials in the region last week stated that the market is currently displaying signs of “sustainable growth”.

669 UK nationals invested 1.892 billion AED (£340 million) into real estate in the emirate, the second highest from a foreign nation. Wealthy Indians were the biggest foreign investors, pouring 3.04 billion AED (£546.5 million) into the market, according to the latest data from the Dubai Land Department (DLD).

Locally, investment from GCC nations (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait etc.) topped 9 billion AED (£1.6 billion), whilst Arabs based outside of the GCC in countries such as Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon invested 3 billion AED (£539.4 million) into properties at both ends of the market, particularly luxury apartments.

In total, investment stood at 64 billion AED (£11.5 billion), a 4.6% increase over the same period in 2014. Last week a leading official from the DLD played down talk of a slowdown in the Dubai property market, instead describing current performance as demonstrating “sustainable growth,” and these latest figures are evidence of investors’ confidence in the market.

Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of the DLD, said that the data shows “well established trust in our real estate market”.

Feb. 11th, 2015

Dubai has been named in a new list of the world’s top 20 most dynamic cities.

The emirate is ranked 13th on the index compiled by Jones Lang Lasalle, which assesses 120 cities with a weighted overall score based on 37 short-term and longer-term variables.

“Momentum is expected to continue with activity bolstered by major project spending relating to Dubai hosting the World Expo 2020,” states the 2015 City Momentum Index (CMI), which takes into account both property investment and wider socio-economic factors.

One of the major reasons that Dubai is so appealing is that it will host the World Expo 2020 from October 20th, 2020 to April 10th, 2021. The event is the first of its kind to be held in the Middle East and aims to draw more than 25 million visitors to the country with a total investment in infrastructure-related projects of 25 billion AED (£4.5 billion). It is thought that Dubai will create almost 277,000 new jobs for the expo.

Elsewhere in the list, London, San Jose, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai topped the 2015 ranking, while six new cities entered for the first time: Ho Chi Minh City, Sydney, Bangalore, Dublin, Nairobi, Melbourne and Nanjing.

Craig Plumb, Head of Research at JLL Mena, said: “We have witnessed some new cities within the broader region, such as Nairobi and Bangalore making their debut to the top 20. Both are experiencing high levels of property construction, its rental markets are buoyant and real estate transparency is improving.

Feb. 5th, 2015

Dubai apartments and other property investments in the emirates have performed very well over the past 24 months. The market has offered capital growth of more than 20% during the period.

Now Dubai property is set for a period of stabilisation and one expert believes it should take the opportunity to re-evaluate the successes of the past and analyse the key stats, trends and changes that drove the behaviour of buyers and sellers.

Paul Preston, Regional Head of IP Global, said Dubai can now put measures in place allowing it to be perceived in a similar manner to the jewels of the mature UK property market London and Manchester.

Writing in Gulf News, he explained that established markets like the UK and those such as Melbourne and Chicago have “all seen steady growth and rental increases that is forecast to continue over the coming two to three years and possibly beyond”.

These long-term investor markets are “bastions for steady, sustainable and predictable growth” in which logical market dynamics most often prevail and Mr Preston believes that Dubai can response to basic economic fundamentals and adopt them to secure a global reputation as safe secure and sustainable property market to invest in.

Dubai authorities have already taken some measures to discourage the dangerous flipping mentality and introduced a platform for long-term regulation within the property sector.

Last week, it was revealed that Dubai may face a housing shortage from 2016 and beyond with experts at the Destination Dubai 2020 conference, calling for more mid-low and low income, and genuine luxury housing.

January 28th, 2015

The Dubai property market could experience a new period of undersupply as World Expo 2020 approaches.

This is the view of Jesse Downs, Managing Director of Phidar Advisory, who was speaking at the Destination Dubai 2020 conference, who outlined. There could be property investment opportunities at the lower end and the very pinnacle of the market.

She said: “There is a shortfall and it is considerable. We see an additional undersupply by 2020. There are opportunities, but where are the opportunities? I think we are overbuilding for the mid- and high-income sector.

“We need more mid-low and low income, and genuine luxury, as well.”

According to global real estate consultancy Jones Lang Lasalle, 25,000 housing units will be added to the Dubai market this year and this may sate demand for a short period.

However, the emirate will need a significant number of new developments as it expects to receive 25 million tourists during 2020, while the economic activity associated with the expo may well generate around 270,000 new jobs.

Also speaking at the conference was Franck Delage, EMEA Real Estate Analyst at S&P. He explained the emirate’s real estate market is much better prepared for long-term stability than it has been in the past, with more regulations in place to help reduce the risks.

Mr Delage said the ratings agency has given all of Dubai’s real estate corporates a stable outlook and he doesn’t expect this rating to change over the next 12 months.

The expo will run for a period of six months, commencing October 20th and will extend into April 2021.

January 16th, 2015

Despite all the property investment projects in the Middle East, the UAE still offers good value on a global scale.

Dubai is currently preparing to host World Expo 2020 – a six-month trade event that will be the first of its kind in the region – while Qatar is readying itself to host the World Cup in 2022.

This level of infrastructural investment is instigating economic growth and reassuring property investors of the potential for long-term returns. The level of these returns are aided by the fact that on a global scale, it is less expensive to build in the Middle East than it is elsewhere.

A new report from construction consultancy firm EC Harris has revealed that European countries dominated the top 10 most expensive construction markets over the past 12 months.

Switzerland was found to be the most expensive country in the world to complete construction projects in. Fellow European countries in the top ten included Denmark, Sweden, France, Austria, the UK, Germany and Belgium. Other countries that made the list outside of Europe included Hong Kong and Australia.

Although Dubai has the top performing property market in the world last year, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are currently more expensive to build in than the UAE.

“The Gulf region is less impacted by fluctuations in global currencies as market constraints are driving inflation and price movements,” explained Terry Tommason, Partner and Head of Property at EC Harris.

“Investment on social infrastructure, economic diversification investment and event-driven construction are three key trends positively influencing construction spend in the region,” he added.

January 11th, 2015

Property investments in Dubai totalled 109 billion AED (£19.56 billion) last year, according to official new figures.

The statistics from the Dubai Land Department revealed that a total of 41,715 transactions were carried out over the course of the year.

Not surprisingly it was Emiratis who purchased the most property in Dubai, with 4,452 investors spending 22.77 billion AED. Saudi Arabian investors were placed participating in 1,745 deals with a total value of 5.2 billion AED.

The appeal of Dubai property is far reaching, with the figures recording that non-Arab investments in 2014 amounted to over 64 billion AED across 29,098 separate purchases.

Among these international purchasers, Indians represented the single largest demographic, much like the corresponding figures for 2013 revealed. Almost 7,500 people from India purchased 18 billion AED worth of property. Investors from Pakistan spent 7.58 billion AED in 5,079 transactions, while British buyers added a collective 9.31 billion AED to their portfolio over the course of last year. Iranians and Canadian buyers also bought in significant volumes, spending 4.5 billion AED and 3.15 AED billion respectively.

Sultan Butti Bin Merjen, Director-General of Dubai Land Department, said: “The Dubai real estate market proves many facts — topping it is [the fact] that Dubai is the ideal investment location in the Middle East and also competing with [the] top investment cities in Asia and Europe.”

Last year Knight Frank found that Dubai was the top performing property market in the world with capital growth of 24%.

January 9th, 2015

Dubai’s staggering growth – instigated by widespread tourism and property investment – resulted in it becoming one of the busiest travel destinations in the world.

This was confirmed recently by new statistics from Airports Council International that showed almost 69 million international passengers passed through the airport in the year to September 2014. During this period, Heathrow processed 67.8 million making the Dubai airport the world’s busiest in terms of international passenger numbers.

Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive of Dubai Airports, said when official figures are compiled for the whole of 2014, he was confident they would show that Dubai International would pass the 70 million annual passengers landmark.

Furthermore, forecasts from Airports Council International for 2020 show Dubai’s air traffic and passenger numbers are set to continue along the same growth rate.

Future growth can be attributed to two main reasons. Firstly the emirate’s geographical position between the world’s largest aviation market North America and the fastest growing – Asia. Also, the investment in Dubai will continue to bring more tourists and visitors through the airport.

By the time that World Expo 2020 comes, it is expected that Dubai will welcome 98.5 million passengers, with the aviation industry accounting for 22% of the emirate’s employment.

January 5th, 2015

As the new year starts property investors have been told that Dubai apartments have already seen significant rental income growth.

A comparison conducted by Emirates 24|7 shows that since the final quarter of 2014, rents across some of Dubai’s master communities have increased by between six and 25%.

The data is compiled and updated by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), the regulatory arm of Dubai Land Department, every four months and it shows that Downtown Dubai remains the most expensive place for tenants to rent, but investors have only seen income rise by between 6.66 and 7.69%.

Apartments in Dubai Marina offered investors more scope for growth, with rents for studio properties rising by nine and 11% with leases varying between 70,000 and 80,000 AED (£12,478 and £14,260) per annum. Larger two-bed apartments in the marina now cost between 140,000 and 190,000 AED per annum to rent, which is a rental rise of 11.76% for the upper band.

Rents in Dubai are well regulated by the emirate’s authorities but it is expected that Rera will unveil a more detailed rent index later this year. The new listings will take various previously subjective factors into consideration, such as views, communal facilities and the age of the building before revealing the average rent for an apartment, building and area.

Rents across the UAE are expected to rise further ahead of the upcoming World Expo 2020. The six month-long trade fair is set to boost the size of Dubai’s population and increase visitor numbers, both of which will increase the demand for rental accommodation in the region.

November 13, 2014

A pilot scheme that is set to introduce a star rating system for property in Dubai is now at an advanced stage.

The programme will tell both property investors and tenants key information regarding the facilities management in many of the most popular property developments across the emirate and a top industry official has said that it will soon go live.

Jamal Lootah, President of Middle East Facilities Management Association, explained since the group took responsibility for the rating system it has held meetings with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency to develop industry-wide benchmarks.“It is only by assessing how well or otherwise a property or building is equipped and functions can inferences be drawn for the benefit of tenants or owners. This is what the rating system seeks to achieve,” he said.

The details that have emerged show the star system will use internal safety standards, longevity parameter, productivity and the return on investment it can offer stakeholders as ratings criteria.

Data will be verified with owners’ associations and developers and will be split into four main categories — apartments, offices, shops and villas – with the level of service and maintenance charges will be presented using a dirham per sq ft formula.

With the Dubai property market currently attracting huge amounts of investment, primarily due to the world-leading levels of capital growth it is offering, authorities have welcomed the transparency the new ratings scheme will bring to the region.

November 11, 2014

Nearly half of residents in Dubai have said their rental payments have increased by over 10% this year.

A further third stated rents have increased by between one and 10%.The analysis has come from UAE-based comparison site Movesouq.com and shows the high demand for Dubai property from both tenants and investors.

“The latest results of our survey are reflective of the overall price increases that Dubai residents faced during late 2013 and early 2014. It would be interesting to see how these trends change over time given the current stabilization in housing prices. We will continue to run these surveys periodically and share the results with our partners,” said Chief Executive of MoveSouq.com Bana Shomali.

Prime areas such as Downtown Dubai and Palm Jumeirah continue to be popular with Emiratis and expats, while the ever popular Dubai Marina is set to benefit from the opening of the emirate’s new tram system.

The Dubai tram will ease traffic congestion in the area and is an example of the large-scale infrastructural investment that is now being unveiled in the region.

Authorities in Dubai have already announced expansions to the emirate’s aviation capabilities and further expansion of the Internet and Media City free zones. These commercial rollouts, coupled with high-profile tourism schemes such as the Mall of the World and new theme parks, will only attract more people to Dubai and further increase the demand for housing.

November 10, 2014

Residents living in property in Dubai Marina and the surrounding areas will have the option to leave their cars at home due to the opening of the new Dubai Tram.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has stated it will cost commuters 3 AED to travel along the 11-station route, while anybody paying via the red tickets will be charged at a flat rate of 4 AED. The tram will run for 19 hours a day.

Residents are hopeful the public transport will provide an alternative travel option and help to ease congestion during peak times.

Although the Dubai Tram officially launches on November 11th, it will be opened to the public the following day. Initially, it will connect Dubai Marina and the Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) with Al Sufouh, but new loops will be introduced in the coming months.

Director of Rail Planning and Design at the RTA’s Rail Agency Abdul Redha Abu Al Hassan explained: “The tram will run on a single loop from Al Sufouh Station and those who want to travel mid-way will have to reach the end of the journey and return in a giant circle.

“However, after two to three months, we will introduce a special loop for passengers looking to specifically travel in the JBR and Marina area.”

The RTA said the Dubai Tram carries up to 405 passengers, divided into several classes across seven cabins. Two of the stations will be linked to water buses, taxis and the Dubai Ferry, while Station 9 incorporates a large car parking space and provides a direct link to The Palm Monorail.

November 7, 2014

Six months after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted the surge in property prices across the emirate, the IMF has now expressed a belief that the measures taken to temper the market have worked.

Authorities in the UAE introduced lending rules to curb speculative buying, as well as rolling out tighter broker regulation and the IMF has said it sees no immediate need for officials to take any further steps as house prices in Dubai have stabilised.

Harald Finger, who headed an IMF delegation to the UAE this week, said: “The measures that have been put in place have helped.

“At this particular moment in time, we would not recommend immediate introduction of any further measures.”

Mr Finger also explained that Dubai’s preparation for the World Expo 2020 was very much on track, stating authorities are controlling large projects at a “much more gradual and measured pace”. He added that in order to fully capitalise economically on the international tourism and trade fair, it was important Dubai is able to continue on the track of “very measured implementation in line with reasonable projections for demand”.

World Expo 2020 is expected to boost the emirate’s population, driving the demand for property and generating an extra 1.5% to Dubai’s GDP on an annual basis between now and the event.

November 6, 2014

Kuwaiti property investors are generating huge returns from their assets in Dubai and other UAE markets.

Recent research from Knight Frank showed that on an annual basis the Dubai property market exhibited capital growth of 24% – almost double the returns seen in any other country in the world.

Now, the latest figures from the International Property Show (IPS) 2015 reveal that Kuwaitis owned a total of 6,947 properties in the UAE at the end of 2012 – the time period the latest boom began in earnest – representing 59% of the total Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) property ownerships.

Dawood Al Shezawi, Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions, organisers of IPS 2015, said: “UAE continues to maintain its lead position as a hot property destination among GCC countries since 2008.

“The picture is still the same and the Kuwaiti investors and purchasers remain the biggest chunk of buyers in the UAE property market.”

He explained that investors are now very confident about the long-term stability of Dubai’s real estate market. GCC investors in particular know the UAE and Kuwaiti construction sectors are linked, as the two leading markets in the Middle East region.

IPS 2015 will be held from March 30th to April 1st and has registered to-date participations of 300 exhibitors from 120 countries. A 33.3% increase compared to the previous edition highlights the continuing global appeal of property investment and the UAE region in particular ahead of the World Expo 2020.

November 5, 2014

Rental rates in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are continuing to provide property investors with growing returns.

Rents in Dubai have increased dramatically over the past two years, highlighting the value of a property investment in the emirate. Although the rate of growth is beginning to slow, the latest research from Reidin shows that rents in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi increased in September 2014.

The rents associated with Dubai property increased by 0.8 points from 103.7 to 104.5, representing an increase of 0.78% in September 2014. This translates as a year-on-year rental rise of 19.8%.

Dubai apartments outperformed villas in the emirate, with a rental rise of 0.93% month-on-month and 22.5% year-on-year, compared to a rise of 0.02% month-on-month and a 7.9% year-on-year increase.

Conversely, in Abu Dhabi apartment rent increased 0.44% month-on-month and 2.1% year-on-year, while villa rental prices rose 2.39% month-on-month and 9.6% year-on-year.

The rents in Dubai have continued to increase in part due to the popularity of the emirate as a place to live. Earlier in 2014, authorities in Dubai revealed that they had issued more than 500,000 new residential visas over the first part of the year.

Subsequently, further government investment in two of the emirate’s main fee zones Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City are set to attract even more workers to Dubai in the coming years, boosting the population and ensuring that there is always demand for property in Dubai – particularly in the areas popular with expiates such as Dubai Marina.

November 4, 2014

A new report from Credit Suisse shows Dubai property investments have helped make thousands of new millionaires in the UAE.
Property investments in Dubai and other emirates have actively made new millionaires.Credit Suisse’s newly published Global Wealth Report 2014 has revealed that the fast pace of property price growth in the UAE directly resulted in the creation of thousands of millionaires.The figures show that capital growth surpassed 15%, making it the highest of any of the tracked countries in the report.

Credit Suisse estimated there are 46,000 millionaires in the UAE, and this number will increase by a further 25% over the next five years. Despite this, there is still room for further growth as the number of millionaires has not yet reached the same total recorded in 2007, when the Dubai property market was at its height
Unlike 2007, authorities in the UAE have put in place measures to regulate the property market and implement a period of sustained growth.

The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) has announced new rules that regulate property brokers in the emirate and ensure they continue to work to some of the highest standards in the world.Marwan bin Ghalita, Chief Executive Officer of Rera, said: “We are going to introduce four new measures to control the brokers. We had over 8,000 brokerage firms with 10,000 brokers at one time, but now we have 2,205 firms with 5,021 brokers. We saw 567 new firms setting up business this year and we believe the numbers are still high for Dubai.”

With tighter regulation in place property investors can expect to see high capital growth for years to come.

October 30, 2014

Dubai Marina’s new tourist attraction will help keep the region at the forefront of property investors’ minds in the future.

Dubai Marina will be the site of a new Hard Rock Hotel.

The property project is set to open next summer and will be a 281-room development managed by Hard Rock International.

“As an ongoing effort to continue expanding the Hard Rock Hotels portfolio, we are thrilled to announce Hard Rock Hotel Dubai Marina with experienced partners like the Abu Dhabi Financial Group,” said Hamish Dodds, Chief Executive Officer of Hard Rock International.

It is a project that will only add to the appeal of the marina area, which is already home to some of the most sought-after properties in the whole of the emirate. This is in part because Dubai Marina properties are also in close proximity to other recently announced and existing popular attractions. Jumeirah Beach and Marina Walk are both popular with expats, while the 4.5 billion AED expansion to Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City will attract new workers to the area.

The sustained appeal of Dubai Marina makes it one of the premier property investment spots in the whole of Dubai and major new projects like the Hard Rock Hotel are commonplace. Both the rents and capital growth associated with property in Dubai Marina soared over the past two years, while the returns are now beginning to become more sustainable after recent regulation was introduced.
 

October 29, 2014

Following the introduction of new lending and buying criteria in Dubai, the pace of growth has become more sustainable.

Masood Ahmed, Head of the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, has told reporters that growth in the Dubai property market has become more sustainable since the emirate’s authorities took steps to limit speculative buying.

“I think all of these [regulations] are little grits of sand in the machine that have helped to slow down that pace, which is good, so we are certainly a little less concerned about that,” said the official.

The pace of growth seen by property investors with assets in Dubai has been unlike that anywhere else in the world. Last month Knight Frank’s Global House Price index revealed that over the 12 months leading to the end of 2014 Q2, property in Dubai had increased in value by 24%. Not only was this the largest growth in the world, it was almost 10 percentage points higher than second placed Nairobi.

The appeal of Dubai as an emerging commercial hub and attractive place to live has led to a significant rise in the population and subsequently, rental returns in Dubai have also increased at an astonishing rate. Since 2012, 10 consecutive quarters of rate rises saw the average rent in Dubai increase by approximately 41%.