November property sales in Dubai hit 11-year high
More than 13,800 deals have completed since the start of September, including the Dh113m sale of Burma Islands on The World Islands
Monthly property sales in November reached an 11-year high of 5,051 deals, up from 4,774 in October and 4,007 in September, according to Property Finder.
The volume of property transactions in Dubai has picked up following the formation of the emirate’s Higher Real Estate Planning Committee, with the sale of Burma Islands for Dh112.77 million earlier this week the biggest deal done, the real estate portal said.
Citing Dubai Land Department data, the listing portal said 13,832 property transactions have been completed since the formation of the new committee was announced on September 2.
“According to the data, it appears the announcement of the committee has had a positive impact on market sentiment in the three months since September. With Expo 2020 less than a year away, it seems people are making up their mind to buy property in Dubai,” Property Finder said in a statement.
The company also pointed to the conclusion of a sale for Burma Islands on The World Islands developed by Nakheel prior to the 2008 global financial crisis as evidence of the improving momentum. A sale for the islands was registered by the Dubai Land Department on Sunday.
The new real estate higher committee, which will be chaired by Dubai’s Deputy Ruler Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, is made up of public and private sector developers and aims to achieve a better balance between supply and demand in the market.
The Dubai property market has seen five years of declining residential property prices, with the lower values achieved partly attributable to developers building cheaper, more affordable homes, as well as concerns about oversupply. In its third quarter UAE Real Estate Market report, consultancy JLL said 33,000 homes were scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2019. A further 65,000 homes are due to be delivered next year, which would bring the total number of homes in the emirate to 640,000 — an 18 per cent increase on the 542,000 the report said were completed at the end of the third quarter. Apartment and villa sale prices both continued to fall — by 7 and 9 per cent respectively year-on-year — but were showing signs of levelling out on a quarterly basis.
Property Finder said the increasing sales momentum comes on the back of several market stimuli, such as extended residency visas, streamlined processes and fee relaxations by the government. It also pointed to the relaxation of a 20 per cent lending cap on banks to the real estate sector and the removal of a 3 per cent early settlement fee on mortgages as moves that have inspired confidence among investors.
“Consumer confidence is building up in the market. This, coupled with declining prices and an excess amount of supply, has given the buyer much [more] choice, attractive prices and incentives,” said Lynnette Abad, director of data and research at Property Finder.
Of the 5,051 property deals in November, 3,053 were off-plan transactions. Communities registering the highest number of sales last month were Dubai Creek Harbour (where 1,057 units were sold), Dubai South (838) and Jumeirah, which includes projects such as La Mer (647).
Source: http://bit.ly/2LJJaEu
