Damac sees Dubai property prices at ‘rock bottom’ as curbs work

Now is the time to buy property in Dubai, the chairman of one of the city’s biggest developers said, months after warning that the Middle East business hub faces a “disaster” on oversupply.

“Prices are rock bottom,” Damac Properties’ Hussain Sajwani said in an interview in Davos on Wednesday.

“Today in Dubai what you’re buying is almost at the cost of the developer or below cost.”

“The supply has been curbed in the last couple of months. Most of the big developers are not bringing new projects,” he said. Still, “our biggest challenge going forward is the supply, we need to curb the supply further.”

The property market’s long decline since a peak in October 2014 has defied all predictions of a rebound.

Dubai in September set up a committee to manage the supply and demand.

Sajwani had in October warned that the real estate slowdown could spillover to the city’s banks and called for curbs on construction.

This year, Damac will focus on reducing inventory in Dubai and expects to sell 1,000 units, Sajwani said in Davos.

He also said:

• Damac is looking at investing in property projects in the UK, Europe and Oman
• Company will this year also invest in Roberto Cavalli

In November, the Dubai property tycoon bought Italian fashion brand Roberto Cavalli

Damac shares have tumbled 38 per cent in the past 12 months, compared with a gain of 14 per cent for Dubai’s benchmark index.