Dubai real estate investment up 7.5% per cent in H1

Total real estate investment in Dubai increased 7.55 per cent year-on-year to Dhs 57bn ($15.5bn) in the first half of 2016, according to the emirate’s land department.

Investment in the emirate’s property market totalled Dhs 53bn ($1.44bn) last year.

Read: Dubai property investment reaches Dhs 53bn in H1 2015

The DLD said the H1 2016 total comprised 26,000 investors from 149 nationalities.

Among them, GCC nationals accounted for Dhs 22bn, or 8,000 transactions, with the lion’s share attributed to Emiratis at Dhs 14.523bn from 4,543 investments. Citizens of Saudi Arabia came in second with Dhs 4bn from 1,946 investments followed by Kuwaitis with 743 investments worth more than Dhs 1bn and Qataris, Omanis and Bahrainis.

Arab investors from outside the GCC contributed more than Dhs 7bn to the market with 7,577 investments by 16 nationalities. Jordanian investors led this group with Dhs 1.5bn through 765 investments, followed by Egyptians with Dhs 1.37bn through 710 transactions and Lebanese with Dhs 1bn through 423 transactions.

Other foreign investors accounted for Dhs 28bn of the total, through 14,314 investments belonging to 149 nationalities. These were led by Indian investors with Dhs 7bn from 3,656 transactions, British nationals with Dhs 4bn through 2,010 transactions and Pakistani nationals with Dhs 3bn through 2,073 transactions.

“The Dubai real estate market has managed to maintain its robust appeal this year and is now emerging as one of the foremost property investment destinations in the world, bolstered by the decline in some regional economies and serious challenges faced by other countries around the globe,” said DLD director general HE Sultan Butti Bin Merjen

“The diversity of the investor base reflects the extensive ranges of different products offered by the real estate sector in Dubai, along with the quality and trust that investors place in its national economy.”

Earlier this month, DLD said real estate transaction values in the first half of the year dropped 12.4 per cent to Dhs 113bn.

Read: Dubai property transaction values drop 12.4% in H1 2016

The emirate’s residential market has remained subdued so far this year, with a recent report from Bayut.com suggesting apartment rents had fallen 6 per cent in the first half.

Read: Dubai rents fall by 6% as Brexit hits investor confidence