The housing market of the United Arab Emirates has begun the healing process after a devastating crisis. This contributed to strengthening economic conditions in the country and growing interest of foreign citizens in buying different types of real estate. The official property website Emirates.Estate has prepared a material about the subtleties of the housing market development in the UAE and Dubai.
Sales rise to an eight-year high
Housing sales in the UAE are record-breaking this year. In 2020, the overall number of deals in Dubai decreased by 8.8% to 51,330 units, compared with an increase of 8.2% in 2019. This was due to the negative consequences of the global crisis associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. Similarly, the transaction value also decreased by 27.5% compared to $ 47.81 billion.
Fortunately, the housing market demand is growing rapidly in the UAE. In June 2021, transaction volume related to the ownership of immovable property increased by 173.5% compared to the same period of 2020 and amounted to 6,388 units. This means that sales rose to an eight-year high. Similarly, the overall deal value over the same period more than tripled to $4 billion.
The secondary housing market in Dubai had over 62% of all deals, and the off-plan market had the remaining 38%. According to experts, in June 2021, Arab developers built about 2,418 off-plan apartments for $ 950 million and 3,970 ready-made flats for $ 3.1 billion.
Meydan has become a perfect solution for buyers – it had 15% of the overall apartment sales. Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Dubai Marina were also popular. Green Community is a well-known place for buyers of villas and townhouses – it occupies 18.2% of the market, followed by Mohammed Bin Rashid City and Dubai Hills Estate.
Rental housing in Dubai is in decline
Rental rates are falling in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Experts attribute this to a decrease in the prices for rental flats in the country.
- In Dubai, rental housing rates in May 2021 decreased by 7.6% in comparison with 2020. The cost of renting flats in the emirate declined by 9.6% compared to the same period in 2020. But rents for villas and townhouses rose by 7.2%.
- In Abu Dhabi, the average rental rate declined by 5.9% year-on-year in May 2021. Over the same period of 2020, prices for flats fell by 7.6%, and for villas – by 2.8%.
Liberal rules for owning property in Dubai
In 2019, the UAE government introduced a new long-term visa system for investors from other countries. Thanks to this, emigrants can live, work and study in the Arab country, as well as run their own business. They can obtain a long-stay visa for 5 or 10 years with an extension.
The right to receive a 10-year visa:
- citizens with state investments of $2.72 million;
- talented and creative people;
- outstanding students.
The right to receive a 5-year visa:
- Citizens with a general investment of $1.36 million. In addition, the amount invested in residential and commercial properties in Dubai should not be borrowed.
- Businessmen who have an ongoing project with a minimum capital of $ 136,000.
Moreover:
- Currently, foreign nationals can purchase any housing in special places of Dubai.
- Citizens of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) can own a house in the country.
- Abu Dhabi allows people from other countries to buy Arab properties in special investment zones for free.
Interestingly, most buyers are citizens of the United Arab Emirates, followed by citizens of India, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain and Pakistan.
Housing market grows in Dubai
Despite the difficulties associated with the pandemic, about 40,000 residential estates were commissioned in Dubai in 2020 in comparison with 36,000 in 2019. Thus, by the end of 2020, 595,000 real estates will be added to the housing stock of the emirate.
For Expo-2020, over 80,000 properties were planned to build in the capital city of the UAE.
In 2019, about 4,000 real estates were commissioned in Abu Dhabi. As a result, the total number of them amounted to 265,000 properties.
About 53,000 units in Dubai and 15,000 units in Abu Dhabi are planned to build in 2022.
Emirates.Estate is your help in buying an investment apartment in Dubai
Experts from Emirates.Estate will provide you with useful information about the subtleties of the housing market throughout the UAE. You can get acquainted with the offers in the catalog of current ads of developers and realtors. For example, they can sell you an investment property for sale in Ajman. Don’t miss this chance, start choosing now!